A Scarred Face And A Torn Heart
by Liza Taylor
Summary: All Brightheart ever wanted was an apprentice. Was that too much to ask for? Now Brightheart is tired of waiting for Firestar to give her one. She will get an apprentice, no matter what the cost or the lives involved. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1 Will he remember?

**The idea for this story has been mulling around my head for a while now and I guess I'm finally going to type it up. It's pretty much a sequel to A Broken Promise, only this story is an actually story.**

**Basic Summary:A Scarred Face and a Torn Heart is about Brightheart wanting an apprentice and doing anything she can to get one, even bend the warriors code.**

**I know this chapter is short but it will get better and longer!**

"Let all cats able to gather their own prey gather here under the Highledge!"

Firestar's commanding voice rang around Thunderclan camp. Brightheart lifted her head. With a jolt she remembered what today was. It was the day that Toadkit and Rosekit would become apprentices. After Firestar had forgotten the promise of giving her Icepaw and Foxpaw she had angry at him for a while, but now she would finally get an apprentice. _"There's no way Firestar can forget twice,"_ she thought, hurrying to the front of the cats gathering under the Highledge. She wanted to be as close as possible. Maybe seeing her will make Firestar remember.

Brightheart heard noises and she looked back to see Dasiy leading Toadkit and Rosekit up to the Highleadge. She also noted that Spiderleg wasn't walking with them. He was in the crowd with the other clan cats. Did he not care about his kits? Brightheart could not believe Spiderleg would do that. When Whitewing had become an apprentice, Cloudtail and Brightheart had walked with their kit.

_"Your kit also took your first apprentice,"_ whispered a voice in Brightheart's head.

Brightheart shook her head. _"No. It is a good thing for Whitewing. I'm proud of her. She is training Icepaw well. Soon she will be able to become a warrior."_

_"Yes," came the voice again. "But you would have done a better job and Icepaw could become a warrior sooner."_

Brightheart stopped arguing with herself, as Toadkit and Rosekit both stood before the Highledge. Her tail flicked behind her. It was almost time. Almost time to train her own apprentice.

Firestar took a deep breath and began the ceremony that sent chills of excitement up Brightheart's spine. "I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these kits. They would like to become warriors of Thunderclan, but must first become apprentices. Toadkit, from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Toadpaw."

Firestar paused and his eyes scanned the cats of the clan. His eyes stopped on Birchfall. "Birchfall, you will train Toadpaw. This will be your first apprentice and I hope you train him well."

Brightheart watched in envy as Birchfall bounded forward and touched noses with the black and white tom. Did this mean she would get to train Rosepaw? She watched Birchfall and Toadpaw walk to the side, leaving Rosekit to face Firestar.

"Rosekit," began Firestar, "Until you earn your warrior name you will be known as Rosepaw."

Brightheart dug her claws into the soft earth. Will Firestar remember? Will she get the apprentice like she wanted? Of course Firestar would remember. He was the cat who saved the forest. He would not forget his promise.

"Your mentor shall be," began the ginger tom. Brightheart had to force herself not to stand up and touch noses with Rosepaw right there. "Berrynose."

Brightheart suppressed a yowl. What was going on? He still didn't remember? But how? Why? She watched numbly as Berrynose touched noses with Rosepaw. The at who was supposed to be her apprentice. She didn't join in at the chanting of Toadpaw's and Rosepaw's apprentice names.

"That is all for now," said Firestar, heading inside his den.

The cats around her returned to their daily warrior duties but Brightheart didn't move. _"You knew this was going to happen,"_ whispered the voice, _"Firestar doesn't care about you. He only gave you Jayfeather to train because he knew a cripple would be able to train a cripple."_

_"Is that really the reason I was given Jaypaw to train?"_ Brightheart asked. She glared up at Firestar's den, all the hatred from Icepaw and Foxpaw's apprentice ceremony flooding back to her. She will get an apprentice soon.

"Hey Brightheart!" Cloudtail was by the fresh-kill pile, "I found a juicy rabbit! Let's share!"

"Maybe later," she said coldly, heading out into the forest.


	2. Chapter 2 Questions to Queens

**Chapter 2.**

A couple days later Brightheart was out hunting. She slowly crept forward, making each pawstep accurate and precise. One false step and it would get away. The mouse's whiskers jiggled and it lifted its head. Brightheart froze.

"Brightheart!"

Brightheart yowled angrily and jumped towards the mouse but the mouse scampered away, leaving nothing but dirt between the she-cat's paws. She turned; ready to snap at whoever had scared away the mouse. She paused when she saw who it was. "Cloudtail."

"That's me." Cloudtail walked over and licked Brightheart on the head. "I'm sorry for making you lose that mouse. I'll make sure to catch you two to make up for it."

"Cloudtail!" Icepaw walked into the area, her white tail flicking behind her in annoyance. After Whitewing had entered the nursery, Firestar had given the white she-cat to Cloudtail to train.

_"He could have given you Icepaw,"_ spoke the voice again, _"But he chose your mate instead."_

_"Of course he choose Cloudtail," _replied Brightheart, "_Both of them have white pelts. Cloudtail knows the difficulty of having a white pelt as much as Whitewing."_

_"But your pelt is somewhat white as well. Even though Icepaw is almost done with her training you could have taught her more than Whitewing could ever. And what kind of mentor was Whitewing? Leaving her apprentice behind and having kits. A true warrior would never do that."_

Brightheart hesitated. She didn't know how to answer the voice. Whitewing had abandoned Icepaw when she went off to have Birchfall's kits. _"How could she throw away her apprentice like that?"_

"Well Brightheart. I'll be going now."

Brightheart blinked her one eye. Cloudtail and Icepaw were walking away, probably to go train some more. She glanced in the direction the mouse had run before heading back to camp. After she crawled through the bramble, she was inside the camp. She stepped aside to let Berrynose and Rosepaw leave the camp. Her claws gripped the ground as she overheard Berrynose talking about how a great warrior he was and all that he would teach Rosepaw.

When they were gone, Brightheart relaxed and went to the fresh-kill pile. Sitting next to it, eating a squirrel was Ferncloud. Brightheart picked up a mouse from the pile and sat down next to the pale gray she-cat. "Hey Ferncloud? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Ferncloud took another bite from her squirrel.

Brightheart didn't know how to ask this question but Ferncloud was the only clan member she could ask. "How does it feel….I mean…did you ever want to train an apprentice?" Brightheart watched Ferncloud with her one eye. The she-cat looked taken aback by the question. "If you don't mind me asking," Brightheart added quickly.

"What brought all this on?" asked Ferncloud.

"I was just wondering," said Brightheart, "I mean all the other clan cats your age have all had an apprentice." She didn't remind Ferncloud that she was older than her.

Ferncloud seemed to think for a while. "Well, it has never bothered me." She chuckled. "I guess taking care of kits is kind of like mentoring."

Brightheart had to agree with Ferncloud on that one. The first six moons of a kit's life, it was the mother's responsibility to make sure the kit knew everything it needed to, to become a proud member of the clan.

"Why don't you ask Millie and Daisy?" suggested Ferncloud.

"Okay," said Brightheart, gulping down her mouse and getting up. She headed for the nursery, but she wasn't going to ask Millie or Daisy. Daisy didn't care about getting an apprentice. All she cared about was finding another tom to fall in love with her. Brightheart still felt like Cloudtail was sometimes looking at Daisy with longing. Millie on the other paw might want an apprentice, but Brightheart didn't want to ask. Millie was not in the clan long enough to get her own apprentince.

Brightheart entered the roomy nursery. In the dim light she could see Millie's three kits, Blossomkit, Briarkit and Bumblekit sleeping near their mother. Brightheart stared at the three kits for a few of seconds. In a couple of moons, the kits would be ready to become apprentices. Would Firestar give one of them for her to train?

"Brightheart!"

"Whitewing." Brightheart tore her eyes away from the kits and walked over to her daughter. She nuzzled her daughter affectionately. Whitewing's stomach was swollen, and Leafpool had said her kits would be coming soon. "How are you? You feeling alright?"

"Don't worry about me." Whitewing shifted her weight on her moss bed. "I feel fine."

Brightheart nodded. "I came here to ask you a question." Without waiting for Whitewing to say anything, she asked, "Do you feel bad about leaving Icepaw in the middle of her training?"

"Icepaw is almost done learning everything," replied Whitewing, "And…I fell in love." She looked up. "Are you worried that Icepaw won't become a warrior at the same time as Foxpaw? I think Cloudtail can handle it. I mean he has trained Rainwhisker and Cinderheart. He has experience training apprentices."

"That's no excuse!" snapped Brightheart. Whitewing looked up in alarm and she could feel Millie staring at her as well. Brightheart didn't care. She was furious. How could Whitewing think that? "What kind of Thunderclan warrior are you? Your first duty should be with your clan! Sure. You can fall in love with Birchfall but couldn't you have the courtesy to finish training Icepaw before going off and having kits? You think apprentices are something you can get rid of if you have other duties to perform? I would understand if you were injured in a battle and Icepaw had been given to Cloudtail, but no. You had to become pregnant with Birchfall's kits! Something you had a choice over." Brightheart shook her head, "I didn't raise you to run away from your responsibilities." Brightheart turned and left the nursery, leaving two shocked queens and three equally shocked kits in her wake.


	3. Chapter 3 A Dream of Blood

**Thanks for all the wonderful reviews (and for how to spell ****courtesy. lol). Suggestions are also open for Foxpaw and Icepaw's warrior name as well as the names of Whitewing's kits. Well here is Chapter 3.**

Brightheart was in the warriors den, on her moss bed, staring down at her paws. She had yelled at her daughter. Something she never did before. _"What is wrong with me?"_ she thought. _"Why did I get that furious at my own kit?"_

Brightheart looked up as Dustpelt came into the warriors den. Her claws dug into her moss bed. Was he here because she yelled at Whitewing? Did Firestar want to see her because of that?

"Brightheart," began Dustpelt. "You are on the dawn patrol tomorrow with me, Berrynose, and Rosepaw."

"Oh. Thanks for telling me."

Brightheart waited for Dustpelt to leave but the tom just stood there. "Brightheart. I heard about…what you did in the nursery."

Brightheart groaned. "Is it all over camp?"

Dustpelt nodded. "Don't worry about it though," he said, "I guess everyone is just surprised. You never yelled at Whitewing was she was a kit. Don't worry. Everyone will forget about this soon."

Dustpelt was about to leave when Brightheart called him back. "Can I ask you a question?" When the tom didn't saw anything, she continued. "What if Icepaw had an apprentice and she left that apprentice to have kits? What would you do?"

Dustpelt padded closer to Brightheart, "This is about Whitewing leaving Icepaw, right?" Brightheart nodded. "Well. I guess I would be upset at first but I would forgive Icepaw. She is my daughter after all."

"Thanks Dustpelt," whispered Brightheart.

"Anytime."

Brightheart placed her head on her paws. If she was going to have to get up early for the dawn patrol tomorrow, she needed rest.

Brightheart's Dream

Brightheart opened her eye. She was in a dark forest, filled with shadows. She looked up, to seek the comfort of Silverpelt, however not a single star shone above. Only thick blackness. A lump formed in Brightheart's throat. Where was she?

"Brightheart. You have come."

Brightheart looked around wildly. The voice was coming from everywhere at once. "Whose there? Show yourself!"

"But Brightheart. You know who I am."

"What are you talking about?" spat Brightheart, her ear perked, claws out. "Come out."

Brightheart felt a presence behind her. She turned but there was no one there. Cynical laughter echoed throughout the trees.

"This is not funny!" yowled Brightheart, "Show yourself!"

"Alright. Don't get mad about it."

A she-cat stepped out of the shadows. Brightheart felt cold. She knew this she-cat. The ginger spotted she-cat stepped closer to Brightheart. She turned her head until Brightheart was only seeing the right side of her face. The scar on the she-cat's face was the same.

"You are me…" Brightheart whispered in disbelief.

"Of course I am you," said the she-cat, "That is because we are one in the same. We are the same cat." She smiled, "Of course I am the stronger one of us."

Brightheart watched in horror as blood began to flow out of the she-cat's paws. It kept flowing and flowing until Brightheart's own paws were covered in the red liquid. She yowled as the blood got higher and higher until she was swimming in it, trying to keep her head above it.

The other her was standing on the blood lake, watching Brightheart struggling to stay afloat. " Firestar has done us wrong. We must do anything to get what you want. Even if it means the cost of another cat's life. Remember. Do anything."

At Dawn

Brightheart woke to Dustpelt poking her. "We have to go on the dawn patrol," he reminded her.

Brightheart slowly got to her paws. The dream was still vivid in her mind. She thought about it as she followed Dustpelt out of the warriors den. The camp was dead silent and the sun had only started making its way up the sky.

"Finally!" said Berrynose, "I thought I was going to have to wait forever."

Brightheart wanted to snap back at the tom. Who did he think he was? She was about it, but Dustpelt said, "Let's go."

Brightheart silently followed the two toms and she-cat through the forest. The first stop was the WindClan border. After the battle against WindClan, the border was frequently checked to prevent another battle like the one from before.

When they reached the border, Dustpelt renewed the scent markings. Rosepaw was looking around in wonder. Berrynose began talking about what he did in the battle against WindClan.

Brightheart's eye narrowed. Berrynose was not a good warrior to train Rosepaw. All that tom could do was talk about himself!

_"Then you should take Rosepaw from him,"_ spoke the voice. _"You would teach Rosepaw more than she would know now."_

_"Maybe I can ask him," _replied Brightheart. "Berrynose?" she asked, "Can I talk to you? Alone?"

Berrynose looked like he was going to hesitate, but he said, "Alright."

"Don't be long," said Dustpelt, "I want to finish the patrol before the sun gets too high."

Brightheart and Berrynose walked upwards until they were near the river. The same river where Ashfur's body had been found. Berrynose stood at the edge of the river and looked down into the water. "What is this about?"

"I want you to give me Rosepaw to train," said Brightheart.

Berrynose turned around. "What?"

"You heard me," said Brightheart, "I want to train Rosepaw. I noticed you are doing a very lousy job right now. On the patrol I noticed that Rosepaw was looking around a lot. It was like she had never seen it all before. That means that you didn't show her the territory like most apprentices do on the first day."

"I was going to do that," huffed Berrynose, "We just never got around to do that

"Oh really?" snapped Brightheart. "And what else are you going to forget? Rosepaw probably won't become a warrior with her brother!"

"Yes she will," said Berrynose, turning back to the river. "I will train her. Sorry Brightheart. You are probably still sore about not getting an apprentice. Well, I guess Firestar didn't trust you enough to give you one."

Brightheart yowled and hit Berrynose in the back of the head with her paw. The tom cried out as he pitched forward, into the river.


	4. Chapter 4 Mentor for a Day

**Chapter 4. Names for Whitewing's kits and Icepaw's and Foxpaw's warrior names are still open!**

Brightheart was frozen in shook. Did she really just do what she thought she did? _"How could I have just done that? I…"_

"What the mousedung! You mousebrained she-cat!"

Brightheart blinked and looked down the small slope to see a very wet but very alive Berrynose. The tom's cream fur was plastered against his sides. He looked up at Brightheart, anger all over his face. "What was that for!?"

Brightheart opened her mouth and then closed it. She couldn't believe it. Berrynose was still alive. She sighed in relief. Even with her cruel thoughts she knew she could never be a murderer.

_"That's what you think,_" said the voice, "_You will be surprised what you will do in the future. That is something you can count on."_

_"Stop it!"_ snapped Brightheart, _"I won't hurt anyone in my clan!"_

"_That's what you think…"_ The voice then vanished without a trace, leaving Brightheart alone to face Berrynose.

The tom climbed up the bank, his eyes staring accusingly at Brightheart. "What kind of stunt was that? I could have died!"

"I…I…," stuttered Brightheart, backing up a step. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to fall over the edge like that."

Berrynose shook himself, trying to get all the water out of his fur. "Your apology is empty. You don't mean it."

"What's going on?"

Brightheart turned her head as Dustpelt entered the area with Rosepaw a couple paw steps behind him. Dustpelt noticed the wet Berrynose. "Why are you soaked? Did you fall into the river?"

"Course I did," snapped Berrynose. He gestured to Brightheart with his tail, "She pushed me in."

"I didn't mean to," said Brightheart. "I…"

Dustpelt lifted his tail, signaling for both cats to be quiet. "Berrynose. You go back to camp and have Leafpool or Jayfeather check you out. It is still pretty close after the whole greencough epidemic. I don't want you to get sick. I will go with you. Brightheart. Can you show Rosepaw the rest of the territory as well as finishing the patrol?"

Brightheart resisted the urge to yowl in happiness. She knew what Dustpelt was doing. He didn't have to accompany Berrynose back, but he was doing it so Brightheart could feel like a mentor, even if it was only for one day.

"I hope you don't get greencough," said Rosepaw, her eyes wide. "It's painful and it always feels like you can't breath."

Brightheart put her tail on Rosepaw's shoulders. "Don't worry. We have some catmint right now so Berrynose won't get sick."

_"Although. It wouldn't be a bad thing if he got sick," _said the voice, _"Then you could become her full-time mentor."_

Brightheart ignored the voice. "Come on Rosepaw. The Shadowclan border is in this direction."

For the rest of the morning, Brightheart showed the apprentice every inch of the territory, leaving no stone unturned. Rosepaw listened intently, taking in everything Brightheart said like a dry piece of moss.

_"So this is what it truly feels like raising an apprentice,"_ she thought, as they passed the ancient oak, on the way to the lake. _"Jayfeather hardly listened to me. He thought I was useless."_

"Wow!" cried Rosepaw, as they reached the lake shore. Rosepaw went as close to the water as she dared. "It's so big! Hey Brightheart! That piece of land in the distance. Is it?"

"Yes," said Brightheart, walking over, the waves gently lapping a pawstep away from them. "That's the island. It's where the four clans meet every full moon."

"Will I get to go to the next gathering?" asked Rosepaw, "Icepaw and Foxpaw talk about the cats in other clans a lot."

"That's up to Firestar," replied Brightheart, "But it is possible."

The two she-cats stood there for a while, watching the sun reflect off the water and hearing the gentle lapping of the water.

"Brightheart! Rosepaw!"

Brightheart twisted her head to see Thornclaw, Cinderheart, and Hazeltail. "Hello," Brightheart called back.

"What are you two doing here?" asked Thornclaw, coming over and giving his sister an affectionate lick.

"We were admiring the lake," replied Rosepaw.

"It is pretty," agreed Cinderheart, "But we have a hunting patrol to finish. Maybe we can view it together another time?"

"See you Brightheart. Rosepaw."

Brightheart watched the patrol disappear back into the forest. She suddenly realized how hungry she was. She had not eaten all morning. Rosepaw was probably the same. "Let's go back to camp," she suggested. "I'm starving."

"Okay," said Rosepaw.

The two she-cats walked back to camp together. Brightheart explained to Rosepaw some of the hunting crouches used to catch the different kinds of prey on the territory. When they finally reached camp, it was too soon for Brightheart.

"You are a great mentor!" said Rosepaw, before running to the fresh-kill pile to eat with her brother.

Brightheart just stood in the entrance. Happiness swelled up inside of her. She had been praised for her teaching. _"So this is how it feels to be appreciated by an apprentice." _She finally understood what Cloudtail and the other warriors were talking about when they talked about how much their apprentices looked up to them.

Her hungry stomach brought her back into the present. With a smile plastered on her face, she went over to the fresh-kill pile.


	5. Chapter 5 Evil Thoughts

**Chapter 5!**

Half a moon later, Brightheart had returned to normal warrior duties. That one day when she was Rosepaw's mentor was the one day she kept reliving over and over. She had not seen much of Rosepaw lately because Berrynose has been keeping the two of them apart. He was probably scared she would take away his apprentice.

Brightheart entered camp, a vole clutched in her jaws. She noticed a bunch of cats hanging near the nursery. The vole fell from her jaws. Was it time for Whitewing's kits? She rushed towards the nursery, pushing past the other warriors.

She reached the front, where Birchfall and Cloudtail were both watching. Leafpool was coaxing Whitewing while Jayfeather was furiously licking a kit. Millie's kits were nearby, watching.

"Is she alright?" Brightheart asked Cloudtail.

"Leafpool says she is doing fine," replied her mate. Although he still looked scared. Brightheart placed her tail on Cloudtail's shoulders. He had acted the same way when Whitewing was born.

"If Leafpool says she is okay, then she is okay," said Brightheart. She turned her head to check on Birchfall. He had the same look Cloudtail had. She sighed. Toms will be toms.

"That's it!" announced Leafpool as she began licking Whitewing's second kit.

"Two kits," purred Cloudtail, "You did better than us."

Whitewing chuckled. She looked down at her kits, as Jayfeather brought one over and Leafpool brought the other. One was white with brown splotches and the other was a dark brown. That kit looked like a miniature Dustpelt.

"They are beautiful," whispered Birchfall, stepping closer to see his kits more closely. "One tom and one she-cat."

"What are you going to name them?" asked Leafpool.

"I was thinking Swiftkit for the tom," said Whitewing, pointing to the dark brown she-cat with her tail. "You can pick the name for the other kit."

Brightheart flinched, remembering Swiftpaw. The black and white tom who was an apprentice the same time she was. The first cat she truly cared about. She shut her eye, as the memories of the dogs returned; the pain she felt on her face and Swiftpaw's dying yowl. She remembered how the clan looked at her back then. They viewed her as a pathetic crippled cat with a horrible name. Only Cloudtail and Firestar, then Fireheart were there to take her out of her despair.

_"But now Firestar does not care about you anymore," _hissed Brightheart's other self. _"When he was a warrior he was a better cat. Maybe he should have never became leader."_

Brightheart shook her head. _"No! Firestar saved Thunderclan countless times! He is one of the greatest leaders Thunderclan ever had."_

_"But not the last,"_ reminded the voice, _"There are going to be many powerful leaders after Firestar. Think about that. Firestar is not immortal. He is just a normal cat."_

"How about Sparrowkit?"

Brightheart blinked and returned to clan life.

"That is a perfect name," purred Whitewing. "Swiftkit and Sparrowkit. Grow strong you two."

The clan cats who had gathered around, all returned to their normal duties except for Cloudtail, Birchfall and Brightheart.

Jayfeather entered the nursery with some, what Brightheart thought was borage in his jaws. "Here Whitewing. Some borage to help your milk come."

Brightheart smiled. She still remembered the herbs Cinderpelt had told her back when Leafpool had decided to run after that Crowfeather cat. Brightheart still didn't understand why the she-cat still got to become a medicine cat even after all that.

_"That's because Firestar is weak,"_ hissed the voice. _"Think about it. He never really punishes any cat. He even lets any cat that wants to join into Thunderclan. Look at Leafpool! She abandoned her clan to run away with a tom even though she is a medicine cat. When she came back, she was welcomed with open paws! No punishment for leaving the clan for a tom."_

_"That's because Cinderpelt…had passed away,"_ argued Brightheart. _"Thunderclan needed a medicine cat."_

_"So?" _ the voice snapped, _"What about now, when Jayfeather is the medicine cat? She can be punished now. There's another medicine cat ready to take care of the clan."_

_"_Just stop it," whispered Brightheart.

_"And look at the top positions," _continued the voice, _"They are all held by cats that have something to do with Firestar's family. The deputy is his daughter's mate and the medicine cat is his daughter. Even the medicine cat apprentice is related to him. Firestar wants his family to stay in all the positions. He wants total control of the clan."_

_"Wouldn't I also be counted like that?" _ replied Brightheart, _"I am his nephew's mate."_

_"But look at you!"_ hissed the voice, _"Firestar favors his family. Everyone in that family but you. You were given the blind cat."_ The voice laughed, _"That cat hates cripples. Look at all the cripples that live in Thunderclan. They either become medicine cats or elders. You become a warrior. I bet Firestar doesn't know what to do with you."_

"Just be quiet!" yowled Brightheart. She suddenly realized all the cats in the nursery were staring at her. She couldn't believe she said that out loud.

"Are you okay?" asked Leafpool, coming over. The she-cat placed her tail near Brightheart's ear.

Brightheart shook Leafpool's tail away. She backed up a step. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired." She turned and left the nursery, almost bumping into Millie, and her kits.

"Are you okay?" asked Millie.

Brightheart ignored the ex-kittypet and was about to head for the warriors den when she noticed Bumblekit staring at her. "Just say it," she hissed to the kit, "My face is hideous."

Whatever Bumblekit was going to say, he didn't. Instead he shifted closer to his mother.

Brightheart was disgusted with herself. First, she has evil thoughts about Firestar and now she had snapped at a kit. "Sorry," she whispered, before running to the warrior den.


	6. Chapter 6 The Lost Kit

**Chapter 6. It is really interesting that everyone seems to like the other Brightheart.**

A couple days later, Brightheart went to the nursery to check on how Whitewing was doing. For the past couple of days, Brightheart made it a part of her routine to check on her daughter. For once, Brightheart felt like she was doing something to help the clan. Of course, having her own apprentice would also help the clan but she could do nothing about that.

_"Or can you?"_ reminded her other self.

_"Be quiet,"_ snapped Brightheart, _"I do not want to deal with you right now!"_

She put on a smile as she entered the secluded nursery. Only Whitewing was inside, and she looked up as her mother entered. Her two kits were in the crook of her belly.

"Where's Daisy and Millie?" asked Brightheart.

"Outside," replied Whitewing, "Millie's kits are excited about their apprentice ceremony coming up. They wouldn't stop talking about it, so Millie told them to go outside because they were bothering Swiftkit and Sparrowkit."

Brightheart thought about Millie's kits. They might possibly be her last chance to get an apprentice. She was getting old and she may have to become an elder before the next queen could have kits. She also knew she could not hope to get to train one of Whitewing's kits. They were kin and usually warriors could not train their kin. _"Maybe I should try to catch as much prey as possible. Then Firestar will be impressed with my skills, and he would have to give me an apprentice."_

_"Just keep dreaming,"_ murmured the other Brightheart.

Brightheart heard a yowl come from outside. A she-cat's distressed yowl. "You stay here," said Brightheart to Whitewing. Her daughter nodded and put her tail around her kits.

Brightheart ran outside. "What's wrong?" she adked.

Millie was frantically looking around the area around her. Briarkit and Blossomkit were also looking for something. Brightheart was about to go over and see what she was yowling about, when Graystripe ran over from his spot by the warriors den.

"What's wrong?" asked her mate trying to calm her down, "Millie. What's wrong?"

"Bumblekit. Bumblekit is missing. I turned my back for one second and he is gone!" cried Millie.

"He's not by the medicine cat den," said Blossomkit, walking back to her mother.

"Bumblekit is not near the elders den," said Briarkit.

Graystripe's eyes widen. "Don't worry," he soothed, "I'll tell Firestar. We will search for Bumblekit until we find him."

Millie looked at the camp entrance, "What if he got out there..."

"Don't worry," said Hollyleaf, coming over. "When Lionblaze, Jayfeather and I went out as kits we were fine for a while."

Brightheart suddenly had a brain spark. What if she found Bumblekit? That would impress Firestar and maybe the kit would look up to her and she would get to train him. She turned and headed for the camp entrance. She slipped out into the forest and glanced around. If she was a kit, where would she go?

Brightheart headed for where the nursery would be. She stopped, noticing a hole in the bramble. If a kit tried, it would be able to climb up the cliffs, because it wasn't that steep. She turned her head and looked into the forest. Where could she search? She had to do it quickly, for Firestar would put a patrol together to find Bumblekit and Brightheart's chance of finding him would slip her by.

_"You could always make sure the patrol never finds him," _sneered the other Brightheart.

_"How would I do that?"_

_"Easy. Kill them."_

Brightheart yowled. _"What's wrong with you? I can't kill my clan mates."_

_"Stop arguing with me and find that kit! You do want an apprentice right?"_

Brightheart had to agree on that one. She wished she had asked Cloudtail on how to be a good tracker but she couldn't ask him now.

She looked around the area near the rocky hole, however she didn't find anything. Wait. She paused and looked closely at a nearby bush. The branches were bent back, like somecat had ran into it. Brightheart even smelled some blood.

"Bumblekit?" she called, "Bumblekit? You here?"

No answer. Brightheart hoped a fox or badger did not get Bumblekit. She decided that following the blood scent might be her best chance of finding him. Brightheart followed the scent, weaving through the forest. Sometimes it backtracked, but Brightheart was patient, that is until she heard cats coming out of the camp.

"Foxdung," she whispered, hurrying her search.

Brightheart paused near a large oak tree. The scent of blood reeked from the spot. She hurried closer. Her blood turned cold when she saw a small body near the base of the tree. She ran over and saw it was Bumblekit.

The kit's face was covered with scratches, and the wounds still looked fresh. "Bumblekit?" whispered Brightheart, "Are you okay?"

The kit only meowed in reply.

Brightheart gently picked him up by the scruff and headed towards the camp. On her way, she bumped into Graystripe, Poppyfrost and Cloudtail.

"You found him," whispered Graystripe. He stiffened when he saw the scratches all over his son's face. "Take him to Leafpool."

"I'll go tell the other cats he has been found," informed Cloudtail, "Come on Poppyfrost." The two cats dashed into the forest.

Brightheart did not waste anymore time. Bumblekit's life could be at stake. She ran into the camp, almost bumping into Spiderleg, but she was able to evade him in time. Without waiting for an apology she ran into Leafpool's den, and put the kit down on one of the beds.

"What happened?" asked Leafpool, when she saw Bumblekit's face. "Jayfeather. Can you clean his wounds?"

Brightheart remembered the bush with the broken branches and the blood. "I think he crashed into a bush. The thorny one just outside of camp."

"Thank you for the information," said Leafpool before getting to stepped back and watched the two medicine cats run around, placing herbs on the kit's face and making him swallow some. Graystripe was watching all of this anxiously. It looked like he wanted to run forward and protect his kit.

"They know what they are doing," reassured Brightheart, "Why don't you tell Millie Bumblekit has been found. She is probably worried sick right now."

Graystripe hesitated for a second, but he nodded and left. Brightheart smiled. He did really care about his kits. Brightheart's smile left as she watched the two medicine cats work. Would Bumblekit be okay? Would he become an apprentice with his littermates?

Brightheart stood there, at the entrance for the whole time. Millie and Graystripe joined her, along with Blossomkit and Briarkit.

"Will Bumblekit be okay?" asked Blossomkit, looking up at her mother with wide eyes.

Millie hesitated. She finally said, "Yes. He will be okay."

The sun was beginning to make its way down the sky when Leafpool stepped out of the den to address the small group of cats. "So?" asked Graystripe, "Will he be okay?"

Brightheart ear perked up as well. Would she lose one chance to become a mentor? _"I should have found him sooner."_

"Don't worry," said Leafpool, "He's going to live. He will stay at the medicine cat den for the night so I can see how he does."

Millie and Graystripe sighed in relief. Their family would not have sadness yet.

"However," began Leafpool, "His left eye has been injured, and I don't know if it can be saved."

All Brightheart could hear was the echoing laughter of her other self in her mind.


	7. Chapter 7 Warrior & Apprentice Cermonies

**Chapter 7. Time to find out if Brightheart gets her apprentice or not.**

Brightheart shifted awake. The wind brushed against her fur, chasing her to shiver. She had fallen asleep outside Leafpool's den. Graystripe was fast asleep a couple pawsteps away. He had convinced Millie to return to the nursery with Blossomkit and Briarkit.

The moon was beginning to descend and the faint wisps of pink touched the sky. Morning was coming, and the verdict about Bumblekit's eye will be revealed. She slowly got to her paws. Would Bumblekit be able to become an apprentice? Would she finally get to train a cat?

She heard sounds coming from inside and Jayfeather walked out, his blind eyes seemed to look straight into Brightheart's. "Is he alright?" were the first words out of Brightheart's mouth.

Her sudden outburst caused Graystripe to open his eyes. When he saw Jayfeather standing there, he immediately jumped to his paws. "Is Bumblekit alright?"

Jayfeather's ears flicked in annoyance. "Bumblekit should be able to become an apprentice with his sisters. However," Brightheart and Graystripe both leaned forward. Whatever came next, they both did not want to miss. "He is blind in his left eye."

Brightheart felt bile rise up in her throat. He was half blind, just like her.

_"Well, looks like you have a better chance to get him now,"_ hissed the other Brightheart, _"Firestar always pairs cripples together."_

_"Stop it,"_ whispered Brightheart, _"I don't want to deal with you. Not now."_

"Brightheart."

Brightheart snapped out of her head and turned, to see Dustpelt by the camp entrance with Hazeltail, and Honeyfern. "We're going on the dawn hunting patrol. Want to come along?"

Brightheat nodded and followed the patrol out. She didn't go out to catch any prey. All she wanted was a distraction, a distraction from what had just happened. She watched as Dustpelt let Hazeltail and Honeyfern take the lead, both catching prey after prey.

"Are you okay?" asked Dustpelt, as the two senior warriors watched Honeyfern stalk a mouse and Hazeltail stalk a vole.

"Huh?"

"I heard what Jayfeather said. Must be difficult."

Brightheart nodded. "I'll manage."

Dustpelt sighed, "Brightheart. You are not okay. I know the way you look at the warriors training apprentices. You want to be one yourself."

Brightheart's eye widen. Was it really that obvious? Her longing to be a mentor was that obvious to other cats? Then, did Firestar know about this as well?

"Let's head back to camp for now," spoke Dustpelt, "The apprentice and warrior ceremonies are going to start soon."

Lineline

"Let all cats able to catch their own prey, gather here under the Highledge!" yowled Firestar.

Brightheart was already waiting below the Highledge. Around her, the other cats of ThunderClan began to gather. Foxpax and Icepaw, as well as their mentors, Cloudtail and Squirrelfight stood in the front. Sitting two pawsteps behind them were Millie's three kits, Millie and Graystripe. Brightheart's heart dropped when she saw Bumblekit. His face was still scratched up, his left eye closed.

"Let us begin the ceremonies," said Firestar, "Today we have two ceremonies to perform. Two apprentices who are long overdue for their warrior ceremonies and three kits ready to become apprentices. Foxpaw. Icepaw. Step forward."

The two apprentices stepped forward, their eyes shining in excitement. They would finally get to become warriors at last. Brightheart glanced over at Ferncloud and Dustpelt. They were watching their kits proudly.

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as a warrior in their turn. Foxpaw, Icepaw, do you promise to follow the warrior code and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your lives?"

"I do," said Foxpaw.

"I do," spoke Icepaw.

"Then by the powers of StarClan I give you your warrior names. Foxpaw, from this day forth you will be known as Foxclaw. Icepaw, from this day forth you will be known as Icewing. ThunderClan welcomes both of you as full warriors."

"Foxclaw! Icewing!" cheered the clan.

When it settled down Firestar finished, "You will sit vigil on the clan tonight."

The newly named warriors dipped their heads and stepped back, letting Mille's three kits step forward.

"I call upon my warrior ancestors to look down upon these kits. They would like to become warriors of ThunderClan, but must first become an apprentice. Blossomkit, from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Blossompaw. Cinderheart, you will train Blossompaw. This is your first apprentice and I hope you train her well."

Brightheart watched in envy as the young gray tabby step forward and touch noses with Blossomkit. Why couldn't that be her? Why should Cinderheart get an apprentice?

"Briarkit, from this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Briarpaw. I will be your mentor."

Murmurs ran throughout the clan cats. It has been a long time since Firestar had taken on a kit to mentor.

_"He only took on Briarkit because he is Graystripe's kid,"_ hissed the other Brightheart. _"What a lousy leader. Could have given her to one of the younger cats._"

Brightheart ignored the voice. It was Bumblekit's turn. The tom stepped forward, shaky on his paws. Brightheart knew it was weird at first, being able to only see out of one eye.

"Bumblekit," began Firestar, "From this day forth, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Bumblepaw. Your mentor shall be…" Brightheart closed her eye.

"Brightheart."

Brightheart opened her eye, her mouth dropped in shock. Yowls of anger echoed in her ears as she stepped forward until she loomed over the young cat.

_"That flea-bitten tom! How could he give us a cripple? Did he think this was good for us? Good for us to train a cripple? When I get my claws on him…"_

Brightheart lowered her head and touched noses with Bumblepaw.


	8. Chapter 8 The Other Brightheart Emerges

**Yay! Brightheart now has an apprentice. However, the story is far from over. –laughs evilly-. I still have plenty in store for Brightheart. And about Icewing's warrior name, there was an Ashfur before Thunderclan Ashfur. Plus I like how Icewing sounds.**

The next morning, Brightheart had woken up nice and early. Leafpool had suggested that Bumblepaw should rest for a day before beginning his training, so right now Bumblepaw was one day behind his training. _"He'll catch up quickly to his sisters,"_ thought Brightheart, _"I won't stop until he is the best warrior in ThunderClan."_

Brightheart waited for the other her to snap at her, but there was no snappy voice in her head. She smiled happily. The other her was gone! She spotted Bumblepaw eating a vole by himself by the fresh-kill pile. Brightheart walked over. "Pleasant morning isn't it Bumblepaw."

The gray tom jumped and turned his head until he could see Brightheart out of his one eye. "Oh. It's you Brightheart."

Brightheart silently snapped at herself. Of course it would take a while for him to get used to missing an eye. She remembered her training like it was yesterday, Cloudtail patiently helping her.

"Don't worry Bumblepaw," said Brightheart, "Soon you will be able to tell who is approaching you without seeing them. You just need to rely on your sense of smell and hearing a lot more."

Bumblepaw finished the vole and got to his paws, "Alright Brightheart. Um. What are you going to teach me today?"

"The territory," replied Brightheart, "Now let's go."

Brightheart led the way out of camp. She made sure to keep her eye on Bumblepaw all the time as they made their way around the territory. She had to warn him of bramble or bushes on his left side so he could go around them without worry.

While they were walking to the WindClan border, Brightheart was constantly wondering if this was a good idea. Maybe she should have let Bumblepaw rest in camp for a few days until he was used to having one eye more._ "Maybe I should have asked Cloudtail for his opinion on this…"_

The scent of moorlands became stronger as the two cats reached the border of ThunderClan and WindClan. Bumblepaw's eye widen as he stared at the never-ending hills stretching before them. "Wow. This is WindClan territory?"

Brightheart nodded before checking the scent markings. She stared at them troubled. The markings were a little over the ThunderClan side. The fur on her neck bristled. How dare those WindClan cats slowly increase their territory! She renewed the scent markings, making a mental note to tell Firestar or Brambleclaw later. Maybe she could stop a battle from happening between the two clans if she told them!

"Let's go Bumblepaw," said Brightheart, "The ShadowClan border is next and then we should tell Firestar about WindClan increasing the border." When the tom didn't answer she looked at him. "Bumblepaw?"

The tom's eye was wide, but not in wonder, but in fear. Brightheart followed his gaze and her heart almost stopped. Coming over the hill was Onestar with Owlwhisker, Harespring and Whitetail at his heels. When they saw Brightheart and Bumblepaw, they approached them, making sure to stay on their side of the border.

"What are you looking at?" asked Owlwhisker, "It is like you have never seen a cat before."

"Let's go Bumblepaw," said Brightheart, keeping her eyes on the WindClan cats at all times. "We still have places to see."

The tom nodded and he slowly backed away from the border, always facing the WindClan warriors and leader.

"Look at them," spat Harespring, "Just running away."

Brightheart's fur bristled. "Be quiet. At least we follow the code and don't attack other clans for no reason at all."

"How dare you," spat Owlwhisker, stepping right up against the border.

Onestar raised his tail, "You don't really understand the situation do you? We were just passing by on a patrol. We saw you two just standing at the border."

Brightheart felt a surge of anger rise up within her. What was with him? If he was on a patrol, why weren't they continuing the patrol? Instead it seemed like they were picking a fight with her. "Pieces of foxdung!" she spat. When the words had left her mouth she recoiled in shock. Why had she said that? No. She was not the one to say it. It was the other her.

"What did you call us?" Onestar's tail moved in an aggravated manner.

"I'm sorry," whispered Brightheart, "I didn't mean-What? You are foxdung. Attacking other clans for no known reason. And the tactics were cowardly. You got RiverClan involved in it. What? Did you promise to give them some ThunderClan land in exchange for help?"

"Brightheart?" asked Bumblepaw from a foxlength away. "What are you doing?"

"_Stop it!"_ cried Brightheart, _"You are making this worse. What if they attack!"_

The other Brightheart did no answer. Instead she said to the WindClan leader, "You are just weak and pathetic, unable to hold his territory together."

"Attack!" ordered Onestar, running over the border.


	9. Chapter 9 An Odd Warm Feeling

**Chapter 9.**

"Run Bumblepaw!"

Brightheart did not turn to check if Bumblepaw had obeyed her orders. All of her senses were focused on the WindClan warriors that were surrounding her. She had faced the dogs, battled BloodClan, crossed a mountain, and even battled badgers, but none of that could compare to this. Unlike all those previous battles, now she was alone against four WindClan warriors.

_"Look at what you have done!"_ she cried staring at Onestar's angry face,_ "They are going to kill us!"_

_"Relax," _snapped the other Brightheart, _"They are just a bunch of skinny cats. The only thing they are good at is running."_

Onestar stepped closer and closer to Brightheart, until the she-cat could not breathe without touching the mottled brown tabby tom. "Why don't you say it again?"

"I'm sorry," whispered Brightheart, keeping her eyes down. "I…I didn't mean it. Please…" She sent prayers up to Starclan. _"Please don't let me die here."_

"Maybe we should get going?" suggested Whitetail, looking in the direction that Bumblepaw had fled. "Our relationship with ThunderClan is shaky enough. If a ThunderClan patrol spots us now…"

"Don't worry," said Onestar, "We'll be done long before help arrives." He turned his attention back to Brightheart. "Now. Let us finish this conversation back in WindClan camp. I don't think your clan mates would like to see this."

Brightheart did not what to do. Should she go with them? Should she fight back? Fighting back was unlikely. She knew there was no way she could fight four WindClan warriors and win.

_"That's what you think."_

She did have time to ask the other Brightheart what she meant for Harespring snapped at her heels, forcing her to step forward, towards the WindClan border. _"I can't believe this!"_ she thought, _"I'm going to be a WindClan prisoner. Cloudtail…Whitewing. I am never going to see them again…"_

_"Stop being so dramatic. We won't become a prisoner. Not when I'm around."_

Brightheart suddenly stopped and Owlwhisker almost bumped into her. "What are you doing?" he hissed, "Keep moving."

"There's no way I'm going with pieces of foxdung like you," hissed Brightheart.

"What did you say?" snapped Owlwhisker.

She whirled around and ran her claws through Owlwhisker's chest, trying to get them as deep as possible. She yanked the claws out and the tom yowled and backed away from the she-cat.

"You foxdung!" Onestar roared.

The three WindClan warriors dove at Brightheart, claws unsheathed. Brightheart did not waste any time. She ran towards Owlwhisker, and ran behind the tom, placing a unsheathed paw on the tom's neck.

"Don't move," she hissed, "Or he will die."

"You don't have the guts to do something like that," Harespring took a step towards her.

Brightheart's eye narrowed and she dug her claws a bit into Owlwhisker's neck, drawing a speck of blood. "Try me."

Onestar lifted his tail, "Wait. She is serious."

"You bet I am," hissed Brightheart, her one eye flashing in anger.

_"Are you sure this is a good idea?"_ asked Brightheart, _"I mean… This is…"_

_"Oh be quiet. I'm trying to keep us alive here and you are complaining?"_

_"But you didn't have to keep Owlwhisker prisoner. You could have ran instead."_

The other Brightheart resisted the urge to roll her eye. She could have done it, but since she was in control of the body the WindClan warriors might use that moment to attack.

"What do you want?" asked Whitetail, "What will it take for you to let him go?"

"Head back to your border," hissed Brightheart, "Cross it and keep going until you cannot see the ThunderClan border." Whitetail looked like she was about to protest. Brightheart shoved her paw a bit more into Owlwhisker's throat, causing the weakened tom to squirm. "Do not argue with me. Once you are gone from my sight, I will release Owlwhisker. He may yowl for you to aid him, but only then are you allowed to return."

Onestar's eyes flashed in anger. "What makes you think we will hold our end of the bargain? And what about you? You could kill him when we are gone."

"ThunderClan may be covered in the stench of half-bloods but at least some of us try to follow the code."

Onestar stared at Brightheart, seeming to look for something. "Who are you?" he finally said.

Brightheart struggled to keep her face neutral, devoid of any emotion. Both Brighthearts were thinking the same thing. _"How did Onestar know?"_

"Stop dawdling," said Brightheart, "Get going." She pressed her paw harder on Owlwhisker's throat. The tom coughed and began to struggle a bit. Brightheart shifted her whole weight onto the tom's back, stopping his squirming. "Don't struggle anymore," she hissed, moving the paw on his neck off a bit. "Otherwise that claw mark on your chest is going to become a lot deeper."

"From what I know of Brightheart," said Onestar, "She would never act like this."

"Get going!" snarled Brightheart, "Now!"

"Brightheart!"

Brightheart did not move, but her ears flicked to show she had heard. She got off Owlwhisker and the tom struggled to his paws as Cloudtail, Dustpelt, Thornclaw and Birchfall burst out of the trees.

"Retreat," yowled Onestar, heading over the and Harespring grabbed Owlwhisker and began dragging him with them.

Cloudtail ran to Brightheart's side and covered the she-cat in licks. "Are you okay? If those WindClan cats did anything to you, I would rip those cats to shreds."

Brightheart felt herself regain control of her body. "Cloudtail. I'm alright."

"Thank StarClan," he whispered.

"Birchfall, Thornclaw," ordered Dustpelt, "I want you two to patrol the border for now. I'll ask Firestar to send over some more cats later."

The tom turned to Brightheart and looked her over, "You seem alright. No physical wounds. I'm happy that you are alright."

Brightheart did not know why but a warm feeling spread from her head to her paws. She blinked in shock. Why did that one line give her a warm feeling inside?

"Let's go and let Leafpool check you over," Cloudtail placed his tail on Brightheart's shoulder. "Let's go."


	10. Chapter 10 I'm Not Crazy!

**Chapter 10.**

Brightheart stood still while Leafpool checked her over. Jayfeather was a few paw steps away, gathering together some herbs. Marigold, poppy seeds and maybe chervil? Brightheart wasn't sure.

"Amazing," said Leafpool, stepping back. "All that and not one scratch on you."

"I guess I was just lucky," said Brightheart. She could not tell Leafpool about how the other her had threatened to kill Owlwhisker just to keep them alive. She involuntarily shivered. She just realized how close to murder she was.

"Put those herbs back," Leafpool ordered Jayfeather. "We are not going to need them. Oh. Brightheart. You are probably starving. Go and get something eat. Come straight back here afterwards."

Brightheart did not know why Leafpool wanted her to return but she was too hungry to care. She dipped her head to the cats, thanked them before slipping out into the ThunderClan camp.

Like always at this time of day, the camp was busy with activity. Cats were coming in and out, dropping fresh-kill on the pile. Cats that weren't doing that were sharing tongues with other cats. Rage boiled inside of Brightheart. She stormed over to Cloudtail who was sharing tongues with Dasiy.

"Brightheart!" Cloudtail jumped to his paws and covered Brightheart in another round of licks. "What did Leafpool say?"

Brightheart did not say anything at first. Instead she looked down at Daisy. The cream colored she-cat just looked back up at her, a look in her eyes. Impatientness? She moved her eye to Cloudtail and realized with a jolt. Both cats had whitish fur.

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart shook her head, "Sorry Cloudtail. I'm just tired."

"I'll go get you some fresh-kill. Wait here. I'll find you the most juiciest piece."

Before Brightheart could protest, Cloudtail was already gone, leaving Brightheart alone with Daisy.

"So," said Daisy, after a moment of silence. "You feel okay?"

Anger surged inside Brightheart and before she knew it, the other Brightheart had taken over. "What are you doing?" she hissed, "In case you didn't notice, Cloudtail's _my_ mate."

Daisy blinked in shock. "Brightheart. What? What did you just say?"

Brightheart lowered her face, until she was almost touching the former loner's ear. "You heard me. Cloudtail is mine. Whether I want it or not, he is mine." She glanced up to check where Cloudtail was. Still looking through the fresh-kill pile. "You would do better if you did not try to spend time with him. I cannot guarantee what will happen to you or your kits."

Brightheart lifted her head and she snapped back to normal. _"Foxdung! What are you doing?"_

"Are you threatening me?" said Daisy in a shrill voice. Her pale blue eyes were wide in fear. She got to her paws faster than the other Brightheart thought a lazy queen could. She searched Brightheart up and down. "What's wrong with you? How could you threaten me? My kits?"

"I brought fresh-kill!" Cloudtail returned, carrying the juiciest rabbit Brightheart had ever seen. He put it down and looked back and forth between the two she-cats, who were looking at each other silently. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," said Daisy before turning around and walking back to the nursery, her tail held high.

_"Darn,"_ said the other Brightheart, _"Should have spooked her more. She should be shaking in her paws and regretting every knowing Cloudtail."_

_"Please stop doing things like this. It isn't right."_

_"Don't get me started on what's right and wrong. What I did was right. That she-cat was going after your mate."_

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart blinked and looked at Cloudtail's expecting face. Realizing what she should be doing, she sat down and took the rabbit in between her paws. "Wow. This is the largest rabbit I have ever seen." More to please Cloudtail than her stomach she gobbled down the rabbit.

While she was eating Cloudtail was telling a story about a badger trail he had found on ThunderClan territory and where it led. Brightheart was not pay attention to it though. Instead she was watching Dustpelt and Ferncloud share tongues.

Inside, she felt envy for Ferncloud. The she-cat got to feel Dustpelt's love everyday. She wondered how Dustpelt's tongue would feel, cleaning her fur. Her fur grew hot and she tore her eye away from them.

_"What is going on? Why am I feeling this way to Dustpelt?"_

The other Brightheart was silent for once.

"Wow Brightheart. You really ate that rabbit. I knew you were hungry."

Brightheart looked down at her paws. It was true. The rabbit was gone. She got to her paws. "Leafpool told me to return after eating," she explained before heading for medicine cat den. Before she got inside, she paused and glanced back just in time to see a white tail enter the nursery.

Ignoring the stabbing pains, she went inside. "Leafpool? I'm back. Oh. Jayfeather."

She stood there, watching her former apprentice, shivering as the tom's blind eyes seem to see every secret she had.

_"Look away mousebrain!"_

Brightheart turned her head, more in shock than anything else. The other Brightheart's voice has never been so commanding. Jayfeather let off a low hiss of annoyance.

"Brightheart," Leafpool came out of the back. "You should have called for me Jayfeather." The gray medicine cat mumbled a reply and went back to sorting herbs. Leafpool sighed before returning her attention to Brightheart. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," she replied, wondering why she had to come back. Of course she was wondering about the other Brightheart's reaction a lot more.

Leafpool seemed hesitant to say whatever she was going to say. She opened her mouth once then closed it again. Finally after what seemed like forever she said, "Bumblepaw told me what you did. How you taunted Onestar."

Brightheart swallowed. What could she say? How could she explain what she did? She thanked StarClan that Bumblepaw did not see her threaten to kill Owlwhisker.

"We. Jayfeather and I want to keep you here for the rest of the day. To..." She paused, looking for the right word. "monitor you."

"What?"

"I know it might sound strange," said Leafpool, "But you have been acting weird lately. You yelled at Whitewing and you always seem distant."

Brightheart couldn't believe it. Did Leafpool think she was crazy or something? Did Cloudtail think that? The clan? "I…have to train Bumblepaw."

"Bumblepaw needs time to get used to his eye," Leafpool said, not looking Brightheart in the eye. Basically she was saying that wasn't an excuse.

Brightheart sighed and walked over to one of the moss beds reserved for patients and sat down. It was going to be a long day.


	11. Chapter 11 The Other Brightheart's Info

A Dream

Brightheart opened her eye. Like her last visit here, the trees were covered by shadows, no stars shone above in the dark sky. Hearing pawsteps, she moved her face until her eye saw the other her coming towards her.

The other Brightheart sat before her, watching her with her single eye. The two cats stared silently at each other for a long time before the other Brightheart spoke. "That cat, Jayfeather. Stay away from him."

"Why?" asked Brightheart. She didn't understand. She didn't understand why the other Brightheart made her turn away earlier in Leafpool's den

"He has powers," the other Brightheart got to her paws and walked to a small dark puddle that wasn't there before. She peered into the water. "He can read minds and walk in dreams. If I wasn't blocking him then he would know everything that has been happening with you. And, he would be able to see what is happening in these meetings of ours."

Brightheart could not believe her! Jayfeather may be a medicine cat but that didn't mean he had powers. Well, other than the power to talk to StarClan. "Jayfeather is normal," she spat, unsheathing her claws. "He may be blind but he will be a good medicine cat. He is like every other cat. Don't make up lies about him!""

"Look at you," the other Brightheart looked up her face unreadable, "Defending him even though he abandoned you for the life of a medicine cat when the time came up. Have you ever thought it was strange? Remember him saying something that involved something you thought? Remember. For, I do and you and I are one in the same."

Brightheart wanted to continue to defend Jayfeather without doing what the other Brightheart said but she knew she was right. She remembered multiple times during his short apprenticeship with her, that it seemed like he was reading her thoughts. He seemed to know exactly what to say even though nothing had been spoken.

"Lionblaze is another cat you should stay away from. He can be more dangerous than Jayfeather."

"What? How? Lionblaze has a power?"

The other Brightheart laughed, "Oh, StarClan loves Firestar and his family. Lionblaze can fight without getting hurt. Basically, he is a powerful warrior. Never gets hurt in battle. Remember the battle against WindClan? He fought without getting hurt. StarClan gave them powers and they will be the biggest threat."

Brightheart looked down at the dark soil and grass. Why? Why did they have to have powers? Even StarClan loved Firestar's family. What did this mean for her?

"Good," said the other Brightheart, "You believe me now." Triumph was clear on her face.

"Yes," whispered Brightheart looking down, "I believe you." Before the other Brightheart could say anything else she added, "But, I won't kill them. I won't kill anyone! Not in my clan or any of the other three!"

The other Brightheart chuckled, "We will see about that."

End Dream

Brightheart woke to faint sunlight trickling in from the outside. Near the entrance she saw Leafpool fast asleep, her body slowly rising and falling..

"_How easy it would be to take her out right now."_

"_Stop it! I won't kill her!"_

"Brightheart."

Brightheart flinched and slowly turned to see Jayfeather. She made sure his blind eyes did not connect with her one eye. "Hi. Jayfeather," she kept her voice guarded, trying not to show that she knew about his powers.

"You sound much better today," he said, "You can leave now and train Bumblepaw if you want."

"Okay," Brightheart numbly walked out of the den, thoughts running through her head. _"Is he trying to listen to my thoughts right now? Should I do something? What should I-"_

"_Relax. He can't touch your mind."_

_"Easy for you to say."_

Brightheart froze in her tracks. Dustpelt stepped out of the warriors den, behind him Thornclaw. The two warriors were talking about something but Brightheart couldn't take her eye off Dustpelt. His dark tabby fur looked really nice in the morning light.

She blinked and tore her eyes away. What the heck was wrong with her!? She had a mate. Cloudtail. He was the one she cared about. Not Dustpelt. Although in the past she could say that with confidence, now she wasn't so sure. Did she love Cloudtail?

"Brightheart," Dustpelt walked over with Thornclaw right behind him. "You seem to be up early now a days."

"Are you alright?" asked Thornclaw, "You slept in Leafpool's den. Cloudtail, Brackenfur and I were worried about you."

Brighthheart shook her head, "I'm fine Thornclaw." Wanting to get away from Dustpelt's eyes she said, "I'm going to train Bumblepaw."

She could feel Dustpelt's amber eyes following her as she went to the apprentice den. She poked her head inside and peered in the dark den. She could make out Bumblepaw sleeping near the front, his sisters Blossmpaw and Briarpaw sleeping next to him. She crawled inside a bit and poked Bumblepaw.

The tom grunted and opened his eye. He seemed startled to see Brightheart standing in front of him. "Let's train," she whispered, "You should become a warrior at the same time as your sisters."

Bumblepaw nodded and slowly got up, careful not to disturb the two she-cats sleeping on both sides of him. Outside, Bumblepaw said, "Wow. I didn't think you would be my mentor again so soon!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Firestar said if you were unable to train me, then Poppyfrost would be my mentor. She trained me yesterday but she was really skittish. It was like she was afraid to hurt me or something."

_"Firestar had a replacement planned!?"_ the other Brightheart's voice hissed loudly in her ears. _"What? Just because Leafpool thinks we are crazy? What is wrong with that cat? When I get my claws on him…"_

"She…probably doesn't know how to train you," said Brightheart, "It is a bit odd training a cat with only one eye."

Bumblepaw nodded, "That's true. So? What are we going to learn today?"

"We are going to learn on how to catch prey. The hunting crouch. My style."

Bumblepaw's eye widen in excitement, "Wow. Blossompaw said she was going to learn that tomorrow! I'm going to be ahead of her!"

Brightheart purred in laughter. "Well, then let's get started!"


	12. Chapter 12 A Gathering

**Chapter 12 of Brightheart's story.**

After an intense training session, Brightheart and Bumblepaw returned to camp, Bumblepaw proudly carrying a vole in his jaws.

"That was a good catch," purred Brightheart as they crawled through the entrance, "I didn't think you were going to get it for a moment there."

Bumblepaw nodded proudly, since the vole in his jaws prevented him from talking. Noticing Blossompaw eating some fresh-kill he gestured if he could go and sit with her. Brightheart told him he could.

Bumblepaw sat down next to his sister and Brightheart could hear him talking about his first catch and how he had to fight a huge badger to get his paws on it. Brightheart purred in laughter. She remembered Swiftpaw doing the same back when he was an apprentice and she even believed his story!

She grabbed a mouse off fresh-kill off the pile and ate a couple pawsteps away from her apprentice. When she was finished the sun was beginning to lower on the horizon. Brightheart was about to turn in from the night when Firestar jumped on the High Ledge and called forth a clan meeting.

"Cats of ThunderClan," began the ginger tom, "For tonight's gathering, I would like Cinderheart, Bumblepaw, Brightheart, Blossompaw, Foxclaw, Icewing, and Graystripe."

Brightheart suddenly remembered. Tonight was the gathering. _"Oh no. Onestar will be there. What if he tells the other clans about what happened?"_

_"There's no way he would,"_ said the other Brightheart, _"Other than making him seem like he is a coward, no one will believe him. They can't believe that sweet crippled Brightheart would do something so cruel and so unlike herself. Plus, he did go on WindClan territory for what everyone else thinks is to increase the territory Don't worry. We are safe."_

Brightheart joined the other cats that were going to leave for the gathering. The three apprentices were chatting, talking about how excited they were to go to their first gathering.

"They grow up so fast," said Graystripe to Brightheart as they began the trip to the island. "One second they are cute little kits and the next fighting warriors."

Brightheart looked over to the long-haired tom. Based on his expression, she knew he must be thinking about Feathertail and Stormfur. She gave him a reassuring lick. "You should be proud. Feathertail died honorably."

Graystripe nodded, "I know, but its hard sometimes you know?"

Brightheart nodded, remembering Cinderpelt's death against the badgers. _"I hope your leg has healed in StarClan."_

_"She's not in StarClan. She's right in front of your nose."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

The other Brightheart was silent for the log bridge that connected the land with the island stretched before them. Brightheart ran up to Bumblepaw. "Be careful," she warned, "It is very slippery and since we are one eye short you may not see some slippery patches."

Bumblepaw nodded, his face determined. He jumped onto the log and slowly made his way across. Brightheart was right behind him, pointing out slippery spots. She had to catch him twice before they finally made it to the other side.

"That was scary," whispered Bumblepaw.

"You'll get better as time passes and you are more accustomed to your missing eye," said Brightheart. She gestured to the gathering area, "Go and meet some of the cats from the other clans."

She watched as Blossompaw and Briarpaw, who had just crossed the log, lead Bumblepaw to a group of apprentices. Brightheart smiled. His siblings won't let the other clans make fun of him.

Brightheart on the other hand, was about to join Graystripe and Cinderheart who were talking to a group of warriors. She paused, noticing Whitewater sitting by herself. Having an idea, she hurried over to Bumblepaw, who was trying to share a conversation with Redpaw of ShadowClan and Nettlepaw of RiverClan.

"Bumblepaw. Sorry for taking you away, but there is someone I want you to meet."

Bumblepaw said farewell to the other apprentices before following Brightheart to Whitewater.

"Brightheart," purred the white she-cat, "I thought you forgot about me." She noticed Bumblepaw. "Oh. Hello. You are?"

"This is Bumblepaw," introduced Brightheart, "He is my apprentice. Bumblepaw, this is Whitewater of ShadowClan. She is just like us."

Bumblepaw nodded slowly, "Was it difficult for you at first?"

"Of course it was," said Whitewater, "I would always get scared if anyone approached me from the left side. After a while your other senses will make up for it. You will be able to hear a mouse squeak from fox lengths away!"

"Wow," whispered Bumblepaw.

The conversation stopped for Leopardstar yowled, signaling the beginning of the gathering. The golden spotted tabby began the gathering. "RiverClan is doing well. The fish is plentiful. We also have two new warriors. Minnowstream and Pebbleclaw."

Brightheart checked out the two new warriors. They were standing tall and proud, basking in the looks of the other clans.

Leopardstar stepped back and Blackstar took the lead. "ShadowClan is also doing well. Snowbird's kit, Darkpaw has become an apprentice. That is all."

Firestar was next. "ThunderClan is also doing well, except for a little trouble from WindClan." He looked the WindClan leader in the eyes before continuing. "We also have two new warriors, Foxclaw and Icewing. We also have three new apprentices. Bumblepaw, Blossompaw and Briarpaw."

Bumblepaw shrunk away from the cats' stares. Brightheart licked him and told him it was alright.

Finally it was Onestar's turn. Brightheart had been waiting for this for the whole gathering. "The rabbits are running around in WindClan," he began, "We have no problems except for the occasional Twolegged. That is all."

_"That was short,_" commented the other Brightheart, _"Guess he didn't want any trouble."_

The clan cats began to break apart, heading back to their own clans. Whitewater bid farewell and headed back with the other ShadowClan cats. Brightheart on the other paw was watching Onestar. The tom had approached Firestar and said something. The two toms were now heading in the opposite direction of the other cats.

"Bumblepaw. You go on ahead," she said to her apprentice, "There is something I want to check out."

"Okay."

Brightheart made sure Bumblepaw had left for the bridge before following the two leaders.


	13. Chapter 13 The Drooling Illness?

**Chapter 13.**

Brightheart slowly made her way over to the two leaders, careful where each paw was placed. She looked up to check the leaders' positions but they had moved further into the island. _"Foxdung!"_ She quickened her pace a bit but was still careful.

"What do you want to talk about Onestar?"

Brightheart froze. She relaxed, realizing the toms were just talking to each other. She crouched down in the tall grass and inched forward until she had a clear view of both toms but did not have a clear view of her.

Onestar and Firestar stood a couple paw lengths apart, both toms maintaining an air of dignity that all leaders seemed to have. The lake's water gently lapped against the shore behind them.

"How's ThunderClan doing? Every cat alright?" Onestar looked up at Firestar hopefully. "I hope no one was hurt in that scuffle we had."

"Onestar," Firestar's tail flicked impatiently behind him, "I know small talk isn't the reason for this conversation. What is your reason? I need to get back to my clan before they worry."

_"Like we would worry about him,"_ hissed the other Brightheart.

"Alright," Onestar looked away. He hesistated, searching for the right words to say it. Finally, what seemed like moons he spoke, "Firestar. I will be blunt about this. I don't know any other way to say this. There's something wrong with Brightheart."

Brightheart dug her claws into the ground. Onestar was going to tell what happened and she could do nothing to stop him!  
_"You could burst into the scene and interrupt it. That would be extremely surprising for both toms."_

_"I can't do anything like that!"_ cried Brightheart, "_I'm not even supposed to be listening to this conversation!" _ Although, she knew she had to jump in. Firestar might force her to retire early and become an elder, or worse, exile her!

_"He never exiled anyone and he never will. He is too much of a goody two paw to do something like that."_

"What are you talking about?" Firestar's face was neutral as well as his body. He didn't reveal anything about what he thought about that statement. He was silent for a couple of seconds but it seemed Onestar was shocked as well by Firestar's reaction. "Onestar. Why do you say that there is something wrong with Brightheart?"

"She wasn't acting like herself," Onestar turned and looked out to the lake or to ShadowClan and ThunderClan territory on the other side. Brightheart wasn't sure which. "When we saw her on the border, it was like a switch went off. She became…violent. More coarse. She even threatened to kill one of my warriors to escape."

Firestar laughed. "Wow Onestar. That was the best story you have ever told."

"It's true!" Onestar stepped closer to Firestar. "You may not want to believe it but it is. Listen Firestar. I have heard from Smoky and Floss about an odd illness. They call it the drooling sickness."

"The drooling sickness?" Firestar looked at Onestar like a mother would to a lying kit.

"I know it sounds odd but there is such a thing. They told me that cats with this illness don't act like themselves. They act mad, almost crazy. They cannot tell friend from foe and will kill anyone in their way. They even drool and whoever they bite also gets in the sickness. The only way to stop the sick cat is to kill him or her."

Brightheart felt cold. What kind of sickness was that? Did she have this sickness? Was she going crazy? Was that it?

_"What a dumb lie. A sickness that doesn't exist. Although I have to hand to Onestar for creating such a story like that."_

Brightheart shifted her weight a bit. Her foot was beginning to fall asleep. _"I don't think Onestar would make something like this up. He is not that kind of cat."_

_"Whatever you say."_

Firestar looked away from Onestar, now looking at the lake. "I believe you about the illness but I don't believe you about Brightheart."

"Firestar!"

"Onestar. Brightheart has not been acting weird at all. She has been the same as ever. In fact she has been busy training her apprentice." Firestar paused, "Her apprentice." His green eyes widen. "She was kept overnight at Leafpool's den to be watched. Leafpool didn't tell me why…"

"She might have this illness. You better tell Leafpool about it."

Brightheart had heard enough. They thought she was sick with this drooling sickness. She slowly moved back. However her paw hit a twig and a loud snap echoed through the island.

Firestar and Onestar looked in the direction of the sound, much to Brightheart's horror. The two toms began walking in her direction. Her paws felt like they were rocks. She couldn't move. Couldn't understand what to do now.

_"Fox-brain!"_

The other Brightheart grabbed control and immediately forced the body to her paws and ran. She heard yowls from behind her and the two toms gave chase. She gave a small hiss in annoyance but continued to run. Instead of heading for the fallen log to get to land she headed for the opposite shore.

_"What are you doing!?"_ screamed Brightheart.

The other Brightheart had no intention of stopping. She inhaled a deep breath and ran into the water, swimming out until her paws did not touch the bottom. She slowly turned in the water, keeping her body low. She heard the toms reach the shoreline and began sniffing around, both not wanting to enter the water.

_"Weaklings,"_ she thought, before swimming outwards, towards the WindClan border, trying not to make many ripples in the cold water.

_"What are you doing? We aren't RiverClan cats! We can't swim like them!"_

_"Do you want to get caught?"_ snapped the other Brightheart.

Brightheart fell silent. The world around them was alive with noises of the night. The cries of crickets, the hoots of owls and other sounds that Brightheart could not identify. She shivered. How could RiverClan cats swim like this? The water was so cold. She could not longer feel her paws. She didn't even know if she had paws anymore.

_"We're almost there. Pull us out."_

Brightheart felt the ground below her paws and she had to use every ounce of strength to pull herself out of the cold water. She shivered heavily as she crawled out of the water, the wind sparing her no mercy. She didn't know if she could get home in time, or if she would even live to see another day. She felt tired. Too tired to think about anything. She curled up on the ground right there and shut her eye. She wanted to rest, if for only a moment.


	14. Chapter 14 A Visit From StarClan

**Chapter 14. Brightheart has now entered dangerous waters.**

The Dream

"Idiot!" spat the other Brightheart, pacing around the small clearing. Brightheart watched her nervously. She looked up but the empty sky gave her no solace. The other Brightheart whirled to face Brightheart. "This is all your fault! We could die because you didn't react in time!"

Brightheart held her head, "I'm sorry. I guess I was shocked about what they said…"

The other Brightheart shook her head in disgust. "You are pathetic. This is nothing to be worried about. He can't-" She paused and looked at a spot above Brightheart's head. "Those blasted-"

Suddenly the other Brightheart was gone along with the rest of the shadowy forest. The forest was now clean and bright, devoid of the shadows that the other Brightheart's place was known for. Beautiful stars of multiple colors shone above, casting the bright forest in an unearthly glow.

"What?" whispered Brightheart, looking around the area in surprise. Where was she? Where was this? Where was the other her?

A sweet scent surrounded her, easing her worries. Before her a cat approached. A beautiful tortoiseshell she-cat with amber eyes. Brightheart wondered if she had not lost half of her face, would she be as beautiful as this cat? Looking at the cat closely she realized something else about her. Faint stars dotted her pelt.

"Who…who are you?" whispered Brightheart, angry at the hint of fear in her voice.

"Do not worry," purred the she-cat in a gentle voice. She stopped a pawstep away from Brightheart. "You may not remember me but I am Spottedleaf. The medicine cat before Yellowfang."

Brightheart didn't remember Spottedleaf but her mother, Frostfur, had told her that when she was a kit Spottedleaf had driven greencough out of her. "Uh, thank you for helping me when I was a kit," said Brightheart, slightly dipping her head.

"That's alright," said Spottedleaf.

Brightheart stiffened and ran all the things she knew about this place in her head. It was starry and bright. A dead she-cat was talking to her. "Am I…am I dead?"

"Goodness no!" said Spottedleaf, "You aren't dead. I just brought you here to speak with you."

Brightheart couldn't believe this! She was talking to StarClan like a medicine cat would! _"What is the other me talking about? StarClan doesn't just love Firestar's family!"_ She struggled to stay calm. She didn't want to make a bad impression or seem too overexcited. Once she knew her voice wouldn't betray her happiness she spoke, "What do you need to speak to me about?"

Spottedleaf looked down and said, "Brightheart. Do not travel down the path that you are currently traveling. It will only lead to sorrow."

"Huh?"

"Listen to me!" Spottedleaf looked up, her voice choked with emotion, "Please. Stop going where you are going. If you continue…lives will be-"

"So this is where you were."

Spottedleaf and Brightheart turned. A rip within a starry tree caught their eye. The other Brightheart was standing in the rip, half within StarClan.

"How could you enter here?" gasped Spottedleaf.

"That doesn't matter," spat the other Brightheart, pulling her whole body through. She stormed up to Spottedleaf, her fur standing on end. "How dare you speak to us like that? Admit it. You are worried about your precious Firestar." She said the last sentence in a taunting tone.

Spottedleaf backed up a step, "What…what are you talking about? I'm thinking about the safety of the clans!"

"Don't give me that mousedung!" snarled the other Brightheart. She lashed out with a paw, the claws connected with Spottedleaf's side. The she-cat yowled in pain and fell to the ground writhing in pain. The other Brightheart stood over her, her one eye cold. "Moons in StarClan have made you weak. You forgot what it is like to be in pain."

"You can't attack a StarClan cat!" cried Brightheart running to Spottedleaf's side. Remembering the medicine cat techniques she learned from Cinderpelt she began licking the long deep claw marks. "It will be okay," she whispered trying to soothe the whimpering she-cat. "Apologize!" she snapped to the other Brightheart.

The other Brightheart shook her head, "Your care is wasted on the likes of this cat." Her whiskers twitched in joy as she stepped closer, ignoring Brightheart's warning look. "Spottedleaf my dear," she said sweetly, "You've been a very bad medicine cat. Talking to Brightheart here trying to protect your precious Firestar. How sweet for someone who can never be with him."

The she-cat's amber eyes widen. Brightheart stopped licking Spottedleaf's wounds. "What are you talking about?" asked Brightheart.

"This medicine cat is a bad she-cat," the other Brightheart lowered herself until she was Spottedleaf's eye level. "I'm correct aren't I? You are in love with Firestar."

Spottedleaf was still. Brightheart stepped away from Spottedleaf in shock. This medicine cat was in love with Firestar? But didn't that break the code?

"Of course it breaks the code," said the other Brightheart, "And cats who break the code must be punished."

"What are you going to do to me?" whispered Spottedleaf, staring up at the she-cat.

The other Brightheart chuckled, "I'm going to do this!" She lifted a paw and lashed it against Spottedleaf's neck.

Brightheart yowled in horror as the she-cat's blood began seeping into the ground. "How could you!?" she screamed, "Spottedleaf was a great medicine cat! Cats, even now talk about how great she is!"

The other Brightheart looked up from the body, "Wake up Brightheart."

End Dream'

Brightheart's eye opened with a jolt. It felt like a dream but she knew it was no ordinary dream. She…her other self killed Spottedleaf. She did not know what happened to StarClan cats if they were killed but she hoped Spottedleaf was alright. _"But…if she is in love with Firestar and wants to keep him safe, why would she talk to me? What could I do to him?"_

"Oh. You are finally awake. I thought you were going to die there for a while."

Brightheart looked up and yowled in surprise. "Mothwing!?"


	15. Chapter 15 Negotiating with RiverClan

**Chapter 15.**

Brightheart looked the golden dappled tabby over and over again. She rubbed her one eye and checked. She was still there.

"I brought some horsetail!" Willowshine padded into what Brightheart thought was a den. The pale gray tabby had some long green shoots in her jaw. She placed it down in a small pile at the entrance of the den.

"Thank you Willowshine," said Mothwing. "Brightheart. You are currently in RiverClan camp."

Brightheart blinked. "What?" Did she hear right? She was in RiverClan camp? "How?" she managed to say, "How did I get here?"

"Mistyfoot found you last night on the night patrol," explained Willowshine while Mothwing was preparing a poultice of some sort. "She, Voletooth and Dawnflower found you half drowned."

_"Could I-her have swam the wrong way? I was sure I went in the direction of WindClan…"_

"We thought StarClan would take you. Eat this," Mothwing pushed the poultice towards Brightheart.

The she-cat obeyed. "Thank you for helping me."

_"Well that was lucky for us I guess."_

_"How could you!?"_

_"How could I what?"_

_"You killed Spottedleaf! You attacked a StarClan cat!"_

_"Relax. In case you have forgotten, dead cats cannot die because they are I don't know…DEAD!"_

Brightheart winced at the other Brightheart's loud voice. _"You don't have to shout!"_ She was happy though. Spottedleaf was not dead. Maybe they healed extremely fast or something.

"Leopardstar wants to talk with you once you are fit enough," informed Willowshine.

Brightheart froze. She had to talk to Leopardstar? _"Of course. I'm a ThunderClan cat on RiverClan territory. Of course Leopardstar is going to ask questions."_ The problem was, she couldn't tell Leopardstar the truth. The leader probably wouldn't believe that she had another self to her and that Onestar and Firestar thought she was crazy.

_"Don't worry. If you don't know what to say I'll talk for you."_

"I can talk to her now," she said, not really believing she had the courage to say it.

"I'll go get her," Mothwing slipped out leaving Willowshine and Brightheart alone.

Brightheart took a couple of deep breaths. She needed to be calm or at least look like she was calm. Her insides felt heavy. Could she do this? Could she lie or not tell the whole truth to a leader?

"Jayfeather talks about you a little."

Brightheart's head snapped up. "What? Jayfeather?"

Willowshine nodded, "He's a bit crabby but he can talk about stuff if he wants to. He once talked about you and his warrior training."

Brightheart was surprised Jayfeather still talked about her. Even though he did abandoned her for the life of a medicine cat, she still cared for him. Kind of like the feelings she had for Whitewing. _"Ferncloud was right. Apprentices, even one that has been trained for a short period of time, is like raising a kit."_

Her calm sense was driven away faster than fleeing vole as Leopardstar entered. The spotted golden she-cat towered over Brightheart. Her amber eyes flashed with something Brightheart could not identify. Brightheart swallowed. All she wanted to do was disappear somewhere and not face the rage of the she-cat.

Behind Leopardstar walked in Mistyfoot. The blue-gray she-cat, just like Leopardstar stood tall and proud. Opposite of what Brightheart felt. Although she knew she had a fighting chance now. Mistyfoot was an understanding she-cat. Maybe she could get of this mess without too much trouble now.

"Willowshine. Can you leave us?" The medicine cat dipped her head to Leopardstar before leaving. Leopardstar watched her go with an amber eye. Once she was gone her full attention went to Brightheart. "So? Care to explain why you were on RiverClan territory?" Her voice was filled with anger and malice, "Came to spy on RiverClan?"

Brightheart's throat felt dry but asking to have a drink would be a bad move on her part. "I…" She really wished she had figured out what she was going to say. "I am sorry. I didn't mean to end up here." she ended, dipping her head.

"Why did you swim here?" asked Mistyfoot, her voice gentle, "You were cold when I found you last night. I thought you were dead."

"I…" Brightheart stopped. She could not tell about eavesdropping on the two leaders. She could not say why she had run away. She couldn't tell these cats anything. "It's difficult to explain."

"Try us," snapped Leopardstar.

Brightheart winced, "Well. Uh. You see. It has something to do with…ThunderClan. Yes. It's a personal ThunderClan matter."

"A personal ThunderClan matter that involves you sneaking on RiverClan territory and almost drowning?" Brightheart winced at the tone of Mistyfoot's voice. The she-cat didn't believe her. Brightheart didn't want Mistyfoot to think she couldn't trust her.

_"You're useless."_

Leopardstar stepped closer to Brightheart. "I'll ask again," she said slowly, "Why were you on RiverClan territory?"

Brightheart met the leader square in the eye, "Well, does that matter at all? I have no business with RiverClan. But, if you let me go I will share an interest piece of information with you."

"You are in no position to make demands!" snarled Leopardstar.

"Brightheart. This is so unlike you."

Brightheart-the other Brightheart ignored Mistyfoot's comment. "Oh really? But it concerns all of the clans."

That made Leopardstar pause.

"I think we should talk privately." Brightheart gestured to Mistyfoot with her tail, "I don't think this concerns you very much."

"Brightheart!" Mistyfoot tried to step forward but Leopardstar stopped the gray she-cat with her tail.

"Go Mistyfoot. I will talk to her alone. Wait outside and don't let anyone in until I say so."

Mistyfoot looked like she was going to argue at first but she sighed and left.

Inwardly the other Brightheart showed off her pleasure. _"I got her right where I want her."_

_"What?"_ asked Brightheart, _"What do you mean?"_

_"This she-cat is pathetic! She can't handle decisions that involve all the clans well. Look what happened with Tigerstar and the moving to the lake. All the decisions involving the four clans have always made her seem like the bad leader."_

_"How could you use something like that!"_ cried Brightheart,_ "She thought she was doing the best for her clan!"_

_"Believe what you will."_

"What is the information?" asked Leopardstar.

"First and foremost. You have to swear on StarClan that I can leave RiverClan unharmed."

"Fine, but only if I can send a cat as an escort after you."

"Fine by me."

"I swear on StarClan that I will let you leave after you tell me," said Leopardstar quickly, "Now. What's the information?"

Brightheart sat down and cleaned her paw, "Well. I overhead Onestar and Firestar talking about a certain illness called the drooling sickness. It makes a cat go crazy, turn on their clan mates. If the cat bites anyone that cat will also get the illness. The only way to stop it is to kill all the cats with this sickness."

"That's it?" asked Leopardstar, "Only the information about an illness?"

"What if I tell you something else? Like…there might be a cat in WindClan with this illness."

_"What are you doing!? You can't lie like that!"_

_"Oh, be quiet. You want to die?"_

Leopardstar's eyes widen. The other Brightheart resisted the urge to laugh. "Yup. Onestar didn't have the guts to kill the cat so he keeps the cat imprisoned. However, I think that cat might get out sooner or later."

"What's the cat's name?" asked Leopardstar.

Brightheart noticed the she-cat was slightly shivering. She was proud that she could lie like that. "I do not know the name. I didn't have time to get that information for they were coming my way and I did not want to get caught. How about I try to get you an update for the next gathering? It will…help our understanding of each other."

"Maybe it would be for the best…" said Leopardstar, her voice filled with insecurity.

"Don't worry. No cat will ever find out on my end. How about you? I don't think your clan should know about this."

"You are correct about that," Leopardstar backed up, "I'll go get somecat to get you across the border." She turned to leave but stopped, "Maybe I should talk about this cat at the next gathering…"

"That's a horrible idea," snapped Brightheart, "Onestar will deny it. Firestar will back him and you will only look bad for your troubles. Best to keep silent for now."

Leopardstar nodded and slipped out.

The other Brightheart let go, pushing Brightheart back in her own body just as Willowshine and Mothwing walked in. Willowshine had a water vole in her jaws.

"Leopardstar told us to give it to you before you go," explained Mothwing as Willowshine put the vole in front of Brightheart. "Otterheart will be waiting outside the camp for you to take you home."

"That's fine," Brightheart managed to choke out before eating the vole. At least while eating she didn't have to tell lies.


	16. Chapter 16 Return to ThunderClan

**Chapter 16**

Brightheart followed Otterheart through RiverClan territory. The dark brown she-cat would glance back at Brightheart ever now and then making her nervous.

"Is something bothering you?" asked Brightheart when she couldn't stand it anymore. "You keep looking back here at me."

Otterheart flinched like she was caught doing something wrong. "Sorry. I didn't mean to stare. I was just wondering why Leopardstar let you go."

It was Brightheart's turn to flinch. She didn't want to think about the lies the other her made up to trick Leopardstar. "I…I don't understand it either." She forced a laugh, "Maybe she knew I couldn't do anything to hurt RiverClan."

Otterheart seemed satisfied by the answer and she picked up her pace. Brightheart picked up her pace as well and the two she-cats walked in silence. Ever now and then Brightheart would look towards the lake, wondering how she could have messed up and landed on RiverClan territory.

_"Hey. Pay attention."_

Brightheart looked ahead and saw pine trees reaching up to the sky. Otterheart stopped before the invisible territory line. "This is it. I would get going if I were you."

Brightheart thanked Otterheart before going towards the lake until she was under five tail lengths from it. She didn't want to get in trouble for trespassing. ShadowClan cats were vicious about defending their territory, especially after Blackstar's temporary insanity.

As she crossed the line the scent of pine trees and marshland became stronger. Her paw steps increased. She didn't care that her paws splashed through the lake water. Even though Whitewater was okay, most ShadowClan cats probably would attack her even though she wasn't on their territory.

It was all that cat's fault. If he had never come then the clans wouldn't have that much tension between them as they currently did. That brown long-haired tortoiseshell tom. Sol. He tore the clans apart, made Blackstar crazy and who knows what else he did in WindClan and RiverClan.

"It's too bad he disappeared after Blackstar returned to being Blackstar," she murmured, "I would claw his ears off if he came into ThunderClan and turned Firestar into the next crazy Blackstar."

_"That would be a good idea,"_ commented the other Brightheart, _"Then we can force Firestar to step down and imprison him for being crazy and Brambleclaw can become leader. Hmmm, I wonder if that cat can become a good leader without having…outside influence."_

_"What are you talking about?" _asked Brightheart,_ "Brambleclaw having outside influence?"_

_"That…is not something I should tell you. Let's just say the dead talks to him, like others in ThunderClan."_

Brightheart still didn't understand what the other her was talking about. The dead could talk? Was it StarClan? But the other her talked about the dead and didn't call it StarClan, so maybe it wasn't StarClan. But, then what was it?

Her ears flicked as the sounds of birds filled her ears. Glancing up she saw the trees of ThunderClan. Hope rose within her. She was almost there and she didn't meet any ShadowClan cats on the way!

Her pace increased, the water splashing away from her paws. She was almost there. She was almost home.

_" Sniff the air you mousebrain!"_

Brightheart didn't know why but she as the other Brightheart told her. Her stomach dropped. ShadowClan cats. Fast approaching.

"What are you doing here?"

Rowanclaw was standing a couple paw steps away. The ginger tom glared at Brightheart suspiciously. "Why is a cat from KittypetClan doing in ShadowClan territory?" he hissed.

Brightheart gulped. "I'm sorry!" she whispered, lowering her head. She knew she was older than Rowanclaw and deserved respect from him but this was not the time. She was trespassing on ShadowClan territory. "I was just heading home." She wondered if she should tell Rowanclaw about her being in RiverClan. She dismissed the idea immediately. That would just cause more trouble than it was worth.

Rowanclaw glared at her. "How do I know that? You could have snuck onto here to steal prey! Does KittypetClan not have enough prey?"

"No!" protested Brightheart, "ThunderClan has enough prey. I just…I just need to get home."

"Rowanclaw? Did you catch that frog?"

Hope surged inside Brightheart. "Tawneypelt!" she called.

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart heard crashing in the undergrowth and then a tortoiseshell she-cat came into view. "Tawneypelt," she sighed in relief. "Am I glad to see you."

"What's going on here?" asked Tawneypelt nuzzling her mate.

"I found her on ShadowClan territory," explained Rowanclaw, "I was just asking her what she was doing here."

"I was going home," repeated Brightheart for what she thought was the tenth time. Was violence all that ShadowClan thought of?

"Then you get going," said Tawneypelt, "I'll take care of my mate here."

Brightheart's whiskers twitched as Tawneypelt stopped all of Rowanclaw's protests with a look. "See you at the next gathering," she said to the former ThunderClan warrior before breaking into a run.

The pine trees thinned out and the trees that Brightheart knew replaced them. The trees that lost their leaves in leaf-fall. She crossed the line and inhaled a deep breath. The scent of squirrels and trees filled her nose. The smell of ThunderClan.

"Brightheart!"

Brightheart almost fell over as Cloudtail tackled her, covering her with licks. "Are you alright?" he asked, "I was so worried about you! When you didn't come back last night…well let's not talk about that."

"I'm fine," she whispered to her mate.

"That's good to hear."

Brightheart's fur grew hot, her legs felt like jelly. Dustpelt stood a couple paws steps away. Next to him was Graystripe.

Cloudtail finally finished cleaning her and he stepped back. "Sorry. I just…I just thought of that time when you were captured by the twolegged moons ago. I was afraid that it happened again."

"Come on," said Graystripe, "Let's get Brightheart back to camp and have Leafpool check her over."

As the four returned to camp Cloudtail stayed close to Brightheart's side, his tail entwined with hers. Brightheart on the other hand watched Dustpelt walk ahead of them with Graystripe. The two seemed to be discussing about a fox appearing near the Ancient Oak.

Brightheart wanted to run up between them and talk with them instead of talking to Cloudtail. _"What is wrong with me?"_

_"There's nothing wrong with you."_

The rest of the trip back was uneventful. When they returned to camp Brightheart was taken straight to Leafpool's den.

"I'll go tell Whitewing the good news," said Cloudtail, "She was really worried about you."

"Tell her I'm okay," she said to Cloudtail before crawling into Leafpool's den.

"Oh Brightheart. You're back." The blind gray tom got up from sorting herbs and walked over to her.

_"Jayfeather," _hissed the other her, _"I have to do something about him."_

_"What? Why?"_

_"Don't worry. It's nothing to concern yourself with. I'll take care of it."_


	17. Chapter 17 Empty Shell

**Chapter 17. In case people were wondering, this story takes place after Long Shadows but Sunrise never happens. From what I heard about it(yes, I haven't read it yet. No spoilers please!) it would mess up what is going on in this story so…Sunrise never existed!**

Brightheart cracked open her only eye. Jayfeather was nearby gathering some herbs together. From their smell she knew it was borage. She groaned and made a big show of getting to her paws. "Hello Jayfeather."

"You feel any pain or anything?" asked Jayfeather, not looking up.

Brightheart shook her head, remembered that Jayfeather couldn't see it, and said, "Nothing. I'm going to go for a little walk." She released a small laugh, "After being paw deep in water I'm happy to be back in thick forests."

"Alright. Just come back soon. Leafpool wants to look you over one last time."

Brightheart nodded, "Of course." She slipped out the rocky cave and half-ran, half-walked to the entrance. On her way there she glanced at the fresh-kill pile. A nice fat mouse sat on top of the pile of rodents. She stopped and picked up that mouse. She noticed Toadpaw had almost taken that mouse. He looked disappointed but he didn't say anything to Brightheart. She flicked her tail at him to tell him she was sorry before leaving camp.

Outside, the birds sang, the rodent prey scurried around the leaves and trees. She ignored all of them. She made her way down the territory towards the lake. Whenever she heard a warrior or apprentice come in her direction she veered in her course until the cat or cats couldn't see her before continuing on.

The lake now in sight, she dropped the mouse on a patch of grass. She glanced around quickly, all her senses on high alert. Nothing. Only the prey. Leaving the mouse behind she walked over to a small bush. Using her claws she moved the leaves aside until she found what she was looking for. Small red berries. She cut them off the bush with her claws.

Once three berries were off the plant, she brought the mouse over to where the berries were. She cut a small slit on the stomach area of the mouse. She stabbed one of her left claws through the berry and stuffed it into the small slit in the mouse. The other two berries were stuffed in quick succession.

Once that was completed she went down to the lake and washed her paws. "First thing done," she murmured before picking up the mouse by the stomach area gently so the berries wouldn't fall out. She returned to camp quickly, and entered Leafpool's den even faster.

Jayfeather was now working on sorting through a new pile of herbs. Did this cat do anything but sort herbs? _"No time to think about that now."_ She put the mouse in front of the gray tom. "I brought you some prey to thank you for you did for me. Thank you for saving me."

Jayfeather nodded. "Thanks. I'll eat it now. I could use a break."

"Alright. I'm going to take a nap. Maybe I am sick with something after all. That walk tired me out so much that I don't think even a badger would wake me." Brightheart laughed and settled down on her moss bed and closed her one eye.

"_Oh. Why do my paws feel dirty?"_

"_Nothing. Don't worry about it."_

"_What are you talking about?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Then can I have control of my body?"_

"_Sorry. Here you go."_

Brightheart opened her eye and stretched. That was a good nap. Although her paws felt a little strange. They felt like she had been walking around for a while. Leafpool and Jayfeather were talking nearby.

"I'll take care of it," said Jayfeather, "You have been working too hard." He headed for the entrance but turned back. "You can have the mouse. You don't mind right Brightheart?"

Brightheart didn't know what he was talking about so she just nodded.

"_No! You fool!"_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Stop that she-cat! Don't let her eat the mouse."_

Brightheart wondered why the other Brightheart was acting the way she did. But, the other Brightheart did have good instincts. She turned to tell Leafpool to stop but the she-cat had already sunk her teeth into the stomach area of the mouse and swallowed.

Almost immediately Leafpool's amber eyes widen and she collapsed on the ground writhing. Brightheart ran to her side. "Leafpool! Leafpool!" What was wrong with her? Was it in the mouse? Was it something else?

Leafpool gasped for breath but each one she took in seemed to do less and less. "No…" she managed to say, "Is this my punishment for breaking the code?"

"Leafpool?" Brightheart didn't know what to do. She looked at the stores of herbs around her. One of those herbs could be the right one. One of them could save Leafpool's life. But which one was it? Which one could save the medicine cat's life. "Leafpool! Which one? Which one do I use to save you?"

Leafpool's breaths released in shorter and shorter gasps. "Don't…worry about me. If this is my punishment I will take it. But you must promise me this." She swallowed and struggled against, what Brightheart thought, was pain coursing through her body. "Jayfeather. Hollyleaf. Lionblaze. Tell them…tell them that I am their mother. Crowfeather. He's…he's the father."

Brightheart's blood turned cold and she stared at Leafpool in horror. The she-cat had kits. The she-cat had did more than have a mate. She had kits. Then, did that mean Squirrelflight lied about them being hers? But, that was against the code! And how could Squirrelfight go along with this? Did Brambleclaw know?

"Please," whispered Leafpool, the life within her almost gone. "Tell them. I want them to know."

Brightheart was about to answer but the other her took over so fast she didn't know it happened. "Why should I?" she sneered, "What makes you better than every other cat? Why should you get special treatment? Why should your kits know you are their mother?" She lifted her head and released a cruel laugh that shook Leafpool from the inside out.

"Who are you?" whispered Leafpool.

Brightheart stopped laughing and rose to her full height. "I am the true Brightheart. The strongest one. You know? Because you told me about your dirty little secret, maybe I will kill your three kits next in a worse way than I killed you. In fact let me tell you a little secret." She stooped low until her muzzle brushed against Leafpool's ear. "That mouse? It was filled with deathberries. Your son was my real target."

"_What?"_

"What?" whispered Leafpool as Brightheart moved away.

"Your family will join you shortly." said Brightheart, a maniac look in her eye. "Don't worry."

"You…murd…." The last remaining piece of light within Leafpool was gone. Gone to join the cats of StarClan. Or as Brightheart hoped, the Dark Forest.

"_What did you mean by death berries?"_

The other Brightheart ignored her. Instead she slapped Leafpool's limp body with a paw. "Just a body. It's just a body. There's nothing in it. No soul. Just an empty shell." For some reason she found that funny. Lifting her head to StarClan she laughed, taunting them to attack her with everything they had.

**Bet no one saw that coming right :D**

**I pay tribute to my favorite anime ever, Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni for the final scene in this chapter. And maybe the Lion King….**


	18. Chapter 18 Allies

**Chapter 18. WARNING! SUNRISE SPOLIERS AHEAD! Now that that's out of my system, enjoy the really long chapter!**

The other Brightheart stopped laughing. This was not the time to be stupid. She grabbed the half eaten mouse and quickly ran to the back of the den. A small crack in the rock face proved to be the perfect hiding place for the murder weapon. She then gathered a pile of the smelliest herb she could find and put it in front of the pile. She ran back to Leafpool's body and checked the she-cat's mouth but there were no traces of deathberries. With that done, she let Brightheart take over.

Brightheart stared at the body in horror. She-no the other Brightheart killed a clanmate. Killed a clanmate. That thought alone sent waves of horror throughout Brightheart's body. Without knowing it she began yowling at the top of her lungs.

"Brightheart! What's wrong!?" Cloudtail raced into the den with Jayfeather close behind him. "Oh StarClan…" whispered the white tom noticing the limp body.

Jayfeather ran to his mentor's side and began looking her over. "She's…dead…" His ears twitched. Brightheart was still yowling madly. He ran to the piles of herbs, removed a sweet smelling one and placed it near Brightheart. "Some thyme to help her calm down."

Cloudtail licked Brightheart's pelt over and over while making soothing noises. "It'll be okay. It'll be okay."

The yowling drew many ThunderClan cats outside the medicine cat den. Firestar pushed his way through the entered. His eyes fell on his daughter and he stopped in his tracks.

Brightheart had finally calmed down and she watched Firestar's face change from shock, to anger, to sorrow. She didn't know why but she felt a tint of happiness from his expression. She turned away from Firestar's face in disgust. How could she be so cruel? How could the other her be so cruel to be happy about this? They had killed cat!

"What happened?" he whispered, not moving from his spot at the entrance of the rocky cave.

Cloudtail looked down at Brightheart. "Do you know?"

Brightheart didn't know what to say, but the other her took over again. "I don't know," she whispered softly, almost inaudible. "When I woke up Leafpool was just lying there…unmoving." Her body shook, like remembering it was horrible enough.

Cloudtail pressed his fur against hers. "It's alright. It's alright."

_"The rest is up to you," _whispered the other Brightheart giving her back her body.

"Bring her body outside," said Firestar quietly before leaving.

Brightheart numbly followed him outside. She heard Cloudtail and Jayfeather carrying Leafpool's body behind her. _"This…It's all my fault!"_

_"No. It was just a mistake. Although, that little piece of information she gave. Now that's something. I can probably use it for something…"_

Once Leafpool's body was outside, yowls of shock and horror ran throughout the clan. Brightheart could hear little snippets of conversations.

"Was Leafpool murdered?"

"Could it be the same cat who killed Ashfur?"

"Leafpool!" cried Sandstorm running to her kit as she was placed in the center of camp. Squirrelflight was right behind her. The high spirited she-cat's face was now stricken with grief as she pressed her muzzle into her sister's unmoving fur.

Firestar was on the Highledge, but he did not have to call for a clan meeting for everyone was already around it. "We have faced a terrible loss," began Firestar. He paused as if searching for the right words. "Our beloved medicine cat, Leafpool has now passed on to StarClan. She will be greatly missed by all of us."

"How did she die?" asked Dustpelt, "She was a young cat."

Jayfeather shrugged. "I don't know. There are no bite marks on her. However-"

"She was murdered wasn't she?" yowled Brackenfur, "Just like Ashfur!"

"We should search for that Sol cat again!" cried Thornclaw, "The patrol will go out, and find him this time!"

Brightheart flinched. She remembered, during the leaf-bare a patrol had been sent out to find Sol and bring him back to ThunderClan to be questioned. However, the patrol came back empty pawed. She felt bad for Sol to be accused of something she did but that cat was still dangerous. Maybe it was better this way.

Firestar lifted a paw and the ThunderClan cats fell silent. "We will search for Sol again. Only, let's get the patrol set up after Leafpool's vigil."

"I'm going to the Moonpool," announced Jayfeather, "I will see what StarClan knows."

The clan quietly watched Jayfeather leave. Once his gray tail tip was gone, Firestar jumped off the Highledge and joined his mate and daughter by Leafpool's side.

Brightheart knew a bunch of cats were going to stay up for Leafpool's vigil but she knew she couldn't. The other her had taken this she-cat's life. She did not have the right to sit next to the deceased cat.

She headed for the warriors den. Inside, Cloudtail was already lying on his mossbed. "I knew you would be here," said Cloudtail, "I thought you would like some company."

"Thanks," whispered Brightheart settling down next to the white tom, happy for his warmth. "I love you," she whispered to him as she fell asleep.

Two days later, Brightheart woke up to the morning light trickling in through the trees. The previous days had been gloomy ones. Every cat seemed to walk on eggshells and conversations ended before they could even begin. Even Whitewing's kits were quiet.

Brightheart's head however, was the only non-quiet thing in the whole forest. The other Brightheart had been busy. She was trying to figure out who the father was if Leafpool was the mother. She even tried to figure out how the whole plan was set up and done.

Brightheart knew she had to do something normal today. The walking on eggshells made her nervous. She felt like she would scream out that she killed Leafpool to stop the silence around her.

She entered the apprentice den and softly called Bumblepaw over to her and told him they were going to get some battle training done. They left camp quickly and made their way to the training hollow.

"Don't worry," she said trying to lighten the mood, "My battling skills might look a little weird but they will work wonders on cats like us."

Bumblepaw nodded. "Ummm. Aren't you sad?"

Brightheart hesitated but she was able to force a nod. "I am. But clan life must go on. It was the same when Cinderpelt died. The clan was quiet for a few days. Don't worry. Leafpool…Leafpool is much happier where she is now," she finished weakly.

"That's good. I wonder if Sol really killed her? I wonder how he did it? I mean, he couldn't just walk into camp. That would cause quite a stir. Maybe he-"

"Let's not talk about this," said Brightheart quickly. "Okay. Here we are. Let's get some training done shall we?"

The training session lasted until sunhigh. Brightheart taught Bumblepaw basic maneuvering strategies to help him keep the enemy in sight. Once he got the hang of that, she began teaching him her basic fighting moves. While she was teaching him how to flip an enemy over, Hollyleaf almost crashed into the training hollow.

"I'm sorry," mumbled the she-cat, "I was just taking a walk."

"I need to talk with you," Brightheart didn't even feel the other Brightheart take over. She looked down at her apprentice. "Bumblepaw. Why don't you head back to camp. You look like you could use a break. Get something in your belly while you're there."

"Alright Brightheart," Bumblepaw dipped his head to Hollyleaf before leaving.

Once Brightheart could not smell Bumblepaw anymore, all of her attention was focused on Hollyleaf. "Hollyleaf," she began, "I have a question. Who are your parents?"

Hollyleaf jumped, her green eyes got wide for what seemed to be a split second. "Squirrelflight and Brambleclaw. Who else would they be?"

Brightheart's eye narrowed. That was not a definite answer. It sounded like she didn't know who her parents were. "Well, I know you are lying."

"What?"

"Your mother is not Squirrelflight. It's-"

"You know who my mother is?" Hollyleaf practically jumped on top of Brightheart. "Who is it?"

Brightheart didn't understand why Hollyleaf cared so much. _"Wait. This cat is obsessed with the warrior code."_ She inwardly twitched her whiskers, _"Well well well. I guess I can use her after all."_

_"What are you going to do?"_ cried Brightheart, _"Please don't kill her!"_

_"Relax. I won't kill her. She can be quite useful to me."_ She backed up a step from Hollyleaf to give herself some space. "Hollyleaf. I won't tell you for free. I need some information in-"

"Tell me!" snarled Hollyleaf, unsheathing her claws. She swung her claws at Brightheart but the she-cat nimbly sidestepped. Brightheart's paw shot out and slammed against Hollyleaf's head; sending her flying to the ground.

"Don't you dare do that again!" snarled Brightheart, towering over the black she-cat. "I let you live…" Brightheart trailed off. She had an idea. _"Ashfur and Suirrelflight had a relationship moons ago right?"_

_"Yes,_" replied Brightheart, sighing in relief that the other her did not kill Hollyleaf. _"Ashfur looked so sad when Squirrelflight chose Brambleclaw over her. Why?"_

_"Ashfur found out. He knew about the kits somehow. That fire. Remember that fire in ThunderClan camp? Ashfur, Squirrelflight, Lionblaze, Hollyleaf and Jayfeather were the last to escape. When they came to where the rest of us were…"_

_"They were quiet. Strangly…oh StarClan."_ Brightheart couldn't believe it. For over a season they must have known how they weren't Squirrelflight's kits. _"But what does Ashfur have to do with this?"_

"You killed Ashfur didn't you?"

Hollyleaf froze. She tried to speak but failed.

"Don't worry," said Brightheart, "I'll keep your little secret. In exchange I want your help."

"Tell me who my parents are," snapped Hollyleaf, seeming to recover from Brightheart's accusations.

"You're still a ThunderClan cat if you are worried about that," said Brightheart, "I will tell you who your mother is in due time. For now I would like to know some things. I know. You can help my fix ThunderClan."

"Fix ThunderClan?"

"ThunderClan is a clan of cats who break the code. Just look around! Daisy and Millie both did not take on warrior names! Many cats in the clan don't believe in StarClan." She lowered her eye, "Both you and I know they are real and there's a prophecy about you three."

"How did you know?"

Brightheart shook her head, "Don't worry about it. We'll talk more later. I have to return to camp to avoid suspicion." Before she left the clearing she turned back to Hollyleaf, "This conversation never happened. If you mention everything that happened here, your little secret will be out and you will never know who your parents are. Understand? Good." She turned and began walking, her final words to Hollyleaf floating on the wind. "Nice to be allies with you."


	19. Chapter 19 The Second Sol Patrol

**Chapter 19. Yes. I am assuming Brightheart had other kits but they died. It never did say in the books that she only had one kit. I think it said something along the lines of Whitewing being the only surviving kit or something like that…**

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart blinked and looked up. "Longtail. Mousefur."

"How long are you going to sit on the rocks?" asked Mousefur. Brightheart noticed the she-cat has trying to leave annoyance from her voice but her flicking tail pretty much gave it away.

"I'm sorry," mumbled Brightheart jumping off the sunning rocks.

"Don't worry about Mousefur," said Longtail as he slowly climbed onto the warm rocks. The tom's once amber eyes stared at Brightheart dully. "She has a tick in her fur."

"Of course I do," snapped the dusky brown she-cat. "Where's an apprentice when you need one? Brightheart. Be a dear and go get Bumblepaw will you?"

Brightheart resisted the urge to laugh. "Of course." She turned and walked over to Bumblepaw. This was one of those moments when she truly felt like a clan cat again and not a murderer. This was normal.

Bumblepaw was with his siblings by the fresh-kill pile, telling them about his special battle training. Millie and Graystripe were sharing tongues close by. It seemed like they were listening to the conversation as well.

"Brightheart!" exclaimed Bumblepaw, noticing her. He jumped up and ran over to her. "I was telling Blossompaw and Briarpaw about our battle training. They really want to learn it to."

"Bumblepaw!" exclaimed Blossompaw, "Don't tell her that! She might think our mentors aren't training us."

Brightheart purred happily. "Well that is good to hear. Maybe Bumblepaw can teach you some of it later? Oh, Bumblepaw. Mousefur wants you to go remove a tick in her fur."

Bumblepaw looked like he was about to complain but thought against it. "Okay." He ran towards Leafpool's-no, Jayfeather's den.

"I am grateful Bumblepaw has a mentor like you," said Millie, "He seemed down for a couple of days but you were able to bring him back to his happy self."

Brightheart nodded to Millie. "It wasn't hard. I just trained him like I thought I should."

"Well you are doing a great job," purred Graystripe, "I wonder why Firestar didn't give you an apprentice before. You have a knack for it. In fact, I think you could train a normal apprentice with ease."

Brightheart beamed at the praise. Firestar's best friend complimented her on her training methods! _"Maybe there's hope for me after all. Maybe, after Bumblepaw becomes a warrior, Graystripe will help Firestar choose mentors for some future kits. Maybe I will get one!"_

"How about me?" purred Millie, looking up at her mate.

"I'll put in a good word for you," promised Graystripe, licking Millie's silver-striped fur.

_"Well. Looks like that pathetic kittypet will get an apprentice soon."_ The other Brightheart hissed. _"ThunderClan is doomed. A kittypet who doesn't believe in StarClan is not fit to train a future warrior of ThunderClan. Of course with all these half-bloods running around, I can see ThunderClan is becoming soft. Hmmm. Maybe a battle will help the clan's rusty fighting skills…"_

_"What are you talking about?"_ cried Brightheart. She pretended to follow Blossompaw's story about seeing an owl as big as a fox in a tree.

_"Don't worry about it. This is a problem I will sort out. You just focus on taking care of that apprentice of yours."_

"Firestar." Graystripe got up.

Brightheart turned her head to see the ginger tom step onto the Highledge. He still looked pretty upset and Brightheart couldn't blame him.

"Let all cats that catch their own prey, gather here under the Highledge." Brightheart felt like the voice was weaker than it usually was.

"Are we finally going to search for Sol?" Brightheart heard Thornclaw mummer nearby.

Brightheart snapped her head in the direction of her brother. "His kit just died. You will never understand how he feels. When my kits were born, and two were born dead I felt sorrow for them for never being able to see the sun. That is why I am grateful that Whitewing lived."

Thornclaw winced at his sister's harsh words. "Sorry Brightheart."

"No wonder you will never get a mate," she huffed, "You are so insensitive."

Thornclaw was not able to respond for Firestar had begun the meeting. "I am sorry for waiting a couple of days before announcing who would go on the patrol. It has been a hard couple of days for me."

_"Wow. He is talking like he is the first cat in the world to loose kits."_

"I have decided on who is going on the second patrol in search of Sol. Brambleclaw will lead like last time. The other cats on the patrol will be Cinderheart, Berrynose, Dustpelt, and Brightheart."

Brightheart blinked. She was surprised. Why would she be chosen for such an important mission? She also felt pride. Did that mean Firestar trusted her more now?

"May I take Rosepaw with me?" spoke up Berrynose, "I will feel bad about not being able to train her. She will be on her best behavior." He turned to his young apprentice. "You will right?"

Rosepaw nodded. "Of course."

Firestar sighed, like the decision was too much for him. "Fine. Brightheart you may do the same with Bumblepaw if you wish. The patrol will set out tomorrow at dawn. Get all the rest while you can."

The clan cats immediately went back to their normal routines. The cats that would be leaving soon went to talk to their family and close friends to bid them farewell. Bumblepaw ran up to Brightheart.

"Brightheart! Brightheart! Am I going to go with you?" His one amber eye glistened in excitement.

"Of course," purred Brightheart. She would show Berrynose. Her apprentice, would be more trained than Rosepaw and this trip would prove it. She felt bad for Rosepaw though. Maybe she should offer Rosepaw some extra training? "Now. Why don't you go say goodbye to your family and friends? We might be away for a long time."

"Okay," said Bumblepaw, running over to his parents and his sisters.

Brightheart chuckled before walking over to the nursery. Whitewing looked up at Brightheart. Swiftkit and Sparrowkit were at the crook of her belly. They seemed to get bigger and bigger every time Brightheart came into the nursery.

"I wish you luck," said Whitewing, "Come back safely."

Brightheart nodded. "I will. Don't worry. A bunch of dogs weren't able to kill me and I don't think anything else will."

Whitewing tried to look cheerful. "I was worried last time when Birchfall had to go."

"I'll come back," she licked Whitewing on the head. "Your father probably wants to spend the rest of the day with me."

Whitewing laughed. "He would."

Brightheart bid farewell to her kit and left. Outside, she headed for the warriors den. On the way there she passed by Cinderheart talking to Hollyleaf.

_"Hang on a sec. Wait until they are done talking."_

Brightheart felt her limbs freeze in place as the other Brightheart took over. She waited until Cinderheart left to find Poppyfrost, while Brightheart walked up to Hollyleaf.

"Don't do anything stupid," said Brightheart quietly, "One false move and we both will be in trouble. Just observe for now. When I get back, well we'll discuss it then."

Hollyleaf looked like she was about to protest but she dug her claws into the ground instead. "I understand," she whispered in the same low tone.

"Good. You better follow it." She turned and headed for the warriors den. Along the way, she let Brightheart take over. _"Have some precious time with your mate. I will get my chance with Dustpelt later."_

Brightheart choose to ignore it for now. Instead she entered the warriors den and settled down next to Cloudtail. When tomorrow came it will be too soon.


	20. Chapter 20 The Patrol Sets Out

**The Sol Patrol V2 begins in this chapter.**

Brightheart awoke the next morning to gentle prodding at her side. She cracked open her eye to see Dustpelt standing over her. Immediately her fur grew hot and she tore her eye away from his.

"It's time to get going," he whispered so he wouldn't wake up the other warriors. "The dawn patrol has already caught some fresh-kill so eat. I will go get the apprentices." Dustpelt turned and left.

Sighing in relief that the other Brightheart did not take over and tell Dustpelt her feelings, she got up and quietly made her way around Cloudtail and many of the other warriors. Being one of the older warriors gave her the perk of sleeping in the center where it was warm, but it was a pain to walk out without stepping on anyone's tail.

She managed to make it outside without breaking anyone's tail. Outside, the sun was barely up, giving the forest plenty of shadows. Cinderheart was eating a vole by the fresh-kill pile. Berrynose was pacing back and forth in front of the camp entrance. Brambleclaw was talking to Firestar nearby.

Knowing she should get some food in her belly before they begun to travel she headed over to the pile and choose a thrush off the small pile before settling down next to Cinderheart.

"Can you believe Firestar and Brambleclaw got up early to catch this for us?" said Cinderheart, "They both must really want us to succeed. Well, Brambleclaw is coming with us but still."

Brightheart paused in mid-bite. Firestar went out and caught this? Even though he was mourning? She knew she would never be able to do what he did if somecat close to her died. That forced her to remember her mother's choice to stay behind in the old forest because she was too old to make the journey to the lake. Brightheart had mourned for her on the way, just as she knew Brackenfur, Thornclaw and Cinderpelt did.

She shook her head and finished her thrush just as Bumblepaw and Rosepaw came over. Both apprentices grabbed a piece of fresh-kill and began gulping it down. "Slow down," said Brightheart, "You don't want to choke."

"But we are going on a huge adventure!" exclaimed Bumblepaw loudly. He winced and looked around to see if any of the other cats woke up from his loud voice.

"The adventure will wait," said Brightheart, getting to her paws, "Finish your fresh-kill."

"Brightheart's right," said Cinderheart, "If you don't eat slow, you might get a stomachache and won't be able to come with us."

The apprentices exchanged wide-eyed glances and slowed down. Brightheart and Cindeheart exchanged humored glances before walking over to the entrance. Unlike Berrynose who was still pacing around, Cinderheart and Brightheart sat nearby and talked about clan gossip. A topic that came up was Ferncloud's fourth litter, going to be born in a moon.

"It must be great to have kits," sighed Cinderheart. She turned to Brightheart, "How was it? Having kits? Raising them? Did it hurt?"

Brightheart laughed and answered Cinderheart's questions the best she could. Cinderheart listened to her with wide blue eyes.

The sun was just lighting up the camp when Dustpelt came over with Bumblepaw and Rosepaw. "We are ready to go."

Firestar nodded. "I wish all of you the best of luck. And…make sure you find him this time."

"We won't come back until we do," promised Brambleclaw. He looked back at the patrol. "Let's try to get past WindClan territory before sunhigh."

With Brambleclaw leading the way, the patrol set out. The forest rushed past them as they crossed ThunderClan territory quickly. The trees begin to thin out as WindClan territory got closer and closer. Brambleclaw then led the patrol to the lake which they kept five tail-lengths from.

"It's weird to be in WindClan territory this early," commented Bumblepaw as the patrol slowly made their way.

"Don't worry," said Brightheart, keeping to the right side of Bumblepaw so the water from the lake lapped up against her paws instead of his. "As long as we don't stray too far from the lake a WindClan patrol shouldn't bother us."

"Although I would like to know what kind of patrol would be up this early," said Berrynose.

"We're up right now," pointed out Rosepaw, "And if WindClan has dawn patrols then the dawn patrol would be out by now."

Dustpelt laughed from behind Brightheart. "She got you there Berrynose."

Berrynose looked away. Brightheart could hear the embarrassment radiating off him. She laughed along with Dustpelt. This was nice. Even though they were on a mission to retrieve Sol they still could joke around.

_"I got it!"_

The suddenly exclamation of the other Brightheart caused Brightheart to jump. "I tripped," she said to Bumblepaw who was staring at her. Accepting the explaniation he turned his head towards the WindClan territory, eye searching for WindClan warriors. _"What is it?"_ she hissed angrily to her other self.

_"I figured out who Hollyleaf's, Lionblaze's and Jayfeather's father is."_

_"Oh."_ Brightheart tried not to sound interesting. She did want to know who their father is but at the same time she didn't. The blow from Leafpool being the mother was still fresh in her mind. As well as the she-cat's death…

_"Don't tell me. I don't want to know."_

_"What? I spent the whole night and some of today figuring this out and you don't want to know?"_

_"Not really. Whoever it is has broken the code as much as her."_

_"Oh yes. They both have broken a lot of parts of the code…"_

Brightheart did not like how to answer to that. The way the other Brightheart put it made it seem worse than it actually was.

"WindClan patrol!" called out Brambleclaw.

Brightheart's heart jumped into her throat as she saw who led the patrol. Onestar.


	21. Chapter 21 Taunting

**Chapter 21.**

Brightheart stiffened as the brown tabby tom approached. Behind him were Crowfeather and Owlwhisker. Owlwhisker's chest bore three scars.

"_That should teach him not to mess with us,"_ said the other Brightheart, voice filled with glee. _"I wonder what he told his clanmates? It would make him look bad if he said a ThunderClan cat did it."_

"We are still five tail-lengths from the lake," said Brambleclaw calmly like he was supposed to be taking a walk around WindClan territory. "You cannot attack us."

"So. Where are you headed?" asked Onestar, pretty much ignoring Brambleclaw's statement. Brightheart noticed that his amber eyes were set right on her.

"That is not a concern of WindClan. It only involves ThunderClan," said Brambleclaw in the same calm voice. "Now, if you could let us pass we will be out of your territory before long."

"We swear on the prey by the Ancient Oak that we will be out of your fur soon," Berrynose put in.

_"What do we do!? He's looking at us,"_ Brightheart screamed in her head. She tries to keep all emotion out of her face so Onestar wouldn't see that she was disturbed.

_"Brightheart. Calm yourself. He can't do anything. We have two warriors and a deputy this time around. There's no way Onestar can push to attack...well he could. But then we can beat the lives out of him."_

_"Can you please stop joking like that?"_

_"Or he could just like you. Hmm, does he have a mate?"_

_"Stop that!"_

_"Fine, fine."_

"We will escort you there," said Onestar. With a flick of his tail Owlwhisker flanked the ThunderClan cats while Crowfeather led the way. Onestar went to the back and followed the clan cats.

The procession made their way through the moorlands. Brightheart could not enjoy the view of the lake though. She could feel Onestar's eyes locked on the back of her head. All she wanted to do was whirl around and scream at him to stop staring at her and that she was sorry about what happened. However, she couldn't. She kept remembering Firestar's and Onestar's talk about the drooling illness.

"Can you stop that!?"

The procession of cats stopped. Brightheart blinked and looked down at her apprentice. The pale gray tom's fur was standing on end, his one amber eye flashing in annoyance. He was looking straight at Onestar.

"Why do you keep staring at Brightheart?" snapped Bumblepaw, "Can't you see that she is uncomfortable?"

Onestar blinked in shock. The other warriors and apprentice all did the same thing. They all couldn't believe it. Bumblepaw always showed respect to the older warriors and yet he snapped at a leader?

"How dare you speak to Onestar like that!?" snarled Owlwhisker. Brightheart stepped closer to her apprentice. Owlwhisker paused in his step forward, suddenly having second thoughts about attacking the apprentice.

Bumblepaw turned to Owlwhisker. "Make me! Your leader has no respect for other cats!"

"Be quiet Bumblepaw!" snapped Brambleclaw.

Bumblepaw shook his head. "No! I can't just sit by while-"

"It's alright Bumblepaw," said Brightheart, "Really. Just drop it."

Bumblepaw looked at his mentor. It looked like he was going to snap at her as well. However he closed his mouth and looked down, now fascinated by the pebbles by his feet.

"I'm sorry that you felt that way," said Onestar, "Although I was not staring at Brightheart, I still feel the meaning behind your words. You care about your mentor a lot."

Bumblepaw looked like he was going to say something but he changed his mind.

"Well then. Let's get going shall we?" Onestar's whiskers twitched in what Brightheart thought was delight.

The rest of the trip was in silence. Rosepaw tried to strike up a conversation but a look from Berrynose silenced her.

When the white cloud-like animals called sheep finally entered Brightheart's view, she released a sigh. They were finally off WindClan territory.

"You can leave us now," said Dustpelt, "We are off your territory."

"Yes you are," said Onestar with a hint of something in his voice. Disappointment? Brightheart wondered why he would be disappointed.

_"It's probably because you didn't go crazy,"_ said the other Brightheart, _"He wants to be a big hero and save the day. Save the day from the crazy Brightheart who has the drooling sickness."_

_"Can you please be quiet?"_

"Let's go," ordered Onestar to the two warriors, "We need to return to camp."

"See you at the next gathering," Brambleclaw said in the calm voice. He beckoned with his tail for the warriors to follow him to the Twolegged structure that was connected to the fence surrounding the sheep.

As the WindClan warriors passed on their way back to their own camp, the other Brightheart took over and stopped Crowfeather. She leaned into his ear and whispered, "I know about your kits."

_"What are you talking about?"_ cried Brightheart, _"You don't mean that he is…"_

"What are you talking about?" snarled Crowfeather, moving away from Brightheart. "I only have one kit. Breezepelt."

"But you don't care about him," sneered Brightheart in a low tone. The ThunderClan and WindClan warriors were still in hearing distance although on opposite ends. "You just took Nightcloud on as a mate so WindClan would accept you as one of them again. Your poor kit. He was only born so everycat could see how loyal you were to WindClan." She stretched to her full height. Although she was shorter than the wiry black tom she still felt taller, stronger than he was. "Do you really think that's true? Does the clan trust you like they used to before the Great Journey?"

"I don't need to hear this from you," snarled Crowfeather, turning to leave with his fellow WindClan warriors.

"Leafpool had kits," said Brightheart quietly, but loud enough for it to reach Crowfeather's ears.

Crowfeather froze in his tracks.

"They are Lionblaze, Hollyleaf and Jayfeather. What are you going to do about that? Do what Graystripe did? Leave one clan and join your kits born from the she-cat you loved? Or stay in WindClan with a she-cat you hate and with a kit born from that?"

"Shut up. Stop lying," snarled Crowfeather, stalking away.

The other Brightheart released her grip on the body, giving the control back to Brightheart. _"Are you mad!?"_ screamed Brightheart, _"What if he tells WindClan?"_

_"He can't. He will be hated if he did. Now. Shall we get going? I heard barn mice taste pretty good."_


	22. Chapter 22 The First Day

**Chapter 22.**

Brightheart followed the other warriors and apprentices to the barn. Brambleclaw was calling for Smoky and Floss. She glanced at the Twolegged nest nearby. She didn't see any Twoleggeds but that did not mean they weren't watching.

"Brambleclaw!" exclaimed Smoky stepping out of the barn. Right behind the gray and white tom was Floss, a small gray and white she-cat. "What brings you here again?" asked the tom.

"I just wanted to introduce you to another one of your kits. Berrynose. Smoky here is your father."

"Really?" gasped Rosepaw, "I thought Berrynose was Spiderleg's kit like me!"

Smoky was quiet for a moment but he managed to say, "Well, I've heard about you Berrrynose from the last time Brambleclaw was here."

_"You have got to be kidding me,"_ groaned the other Brightheart, _"We are taking a little break so a cat can catch up with their parents? Wow. This shows how much Brmableclaw cares about finding Sol."_

_"Can you please stop it? Berrynose should have some idea who his parents are."_

_"Then, do Leafpool's kits need to know?"_

Brightheart didn't know how to answer that. How could she answer it? Their father was not a ThunderClan warrior. It was a WindClan one! How would Hollyleaf take it? She was always pretty strict with the code.

_"Don't worry about Hollyleaf. She can be really useful to us. She has killed once and can do it again."_

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart broke out of her thoughts and looked down at Bumblepaw. "Yes?"

"Brambleclaw says we should get ready to go. We're heading out again."

"Oh. Thanks for telling me."

"I can't wait to see what's out there!" cried Bumblepaw, looking into the distance.

Brightheart's whiskers twitched. It was true. This was a rare experience. The older warriors had the experience of traveling from the old forest to the lake but most of the younger cats have not left the lake.

"It's more dangerous than what you are used to Bumblepaw," said Brightheart, "There are a lot of monsters and dogs and twolegged. Promise me you will listen to us warriors."

Bumblepaw didn't even hesitate. "Of course I will Brightheart. You know a lot more about being out here than I do."

"I really wish all of my apprentices were like that," purred Dustpelt walking over.

Brightheart looked at the ground. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. Ashfur and Squirrelflight were both pawfuls. Especially Squirrelflight." He laughed, "I had to keep an eye on her at all times while I was training her."

Brightheart laughed along with him. Squirrelflight was extremely lively when she was Squirrelpaw. She stopped laughing. She realized that Squirrelflight knew about Leafpool's kits and she hid them. _"Poor kits…All this time they thought their mother was another cat."_

_"Stop thinking of them,"_ snapped the other Brightheart, _"Let's get going. We have to find Sol!"_

_"Why? We both know who really killed Ashfur…and Leafpool…"_

_"He could be a good ally to have."_

"Brightheart. You seem to be spacing out a lot. Maybe you shouldn't go on this trip?"

Brightheart shook her head, "Don't worry about me Dustpelt. I'm fine."

Dustpelt looked her over with amber eyes before shrugging. "Alright, but let me know if you are feeling sick or something."

"Okay."

Dustpelt walked over to Brambleclaw who was beginning to leave. Berrynose and Rosepaw were already walking and Cinderheart was right behind them.

"You can go ahead and talk with Rosepaw if you want to," said Brightheart, noticing that Bumblepaw was walking right next to her. She didn't want to make Bumblepaw feel like he always had to take care of her. She was his mentor! Not some elder that needed looking after.

"But…"

Brightheart flicked her tail. "I command you to go Bumblepaw. You shouldn't spend all your time taking care of me. I'm a warrior, not an elder."

Bumblepaw lowered his head, ears flattened in embarrassment. "I'm sorry Brightheart. I didn't think you took it like that."

Brightheart shook her head, "Don't worry about it. You are a sweet kit. Whoever steals your heart is going to be one lucky she-cat."

Bumblepaw lowered his head even more.

Brightheart suppressed a laugh. She didn't want to make her apprentice feel even more uncomfortable. "Well go on."

Bumblepaw ran over to Rosepaw and the two immediately began a conversation. Cinderheart slowed down until she was walking next to Brightheart. "Hey. I think you could use the company."

Brightheart thanked Cinderheart and they made light conversation as they traveled over moorlands. The sun was beginning to set when Brambleclaw warned about a thunderpath.

Brightheart turned her head away from the stench of the thunderpath and the monsters ran on it. "Just like the one that was near ThunderClan territory in the old forest," she said.

"Wow," said Cinderheart, blue eyes wide. "This is what monsters have to go on."

"Most of them," said Dustpelt as they gathered at the edge of the path. The monsters whizzed past, the wind buffing the cats' furs.  
"We'll rest for the night once we get to the other side," said Brambleclaw, "It will take us a couple more days to reach the place where Jingo is."

Brightheart remembered on the last Sol patrol, the cats had met up with a group of kittypets and loners who were tricked by Sol. She wondered how those cats would treat her. Most cats at the lake were used to her now. Only new kits and new apprentices from other clans cried out in shock and fear after seeing her for the first time.

"Let's try to cross together," ordered Brambleclaw over the monsters' roars.

The cats waited on the side until there were no monsters to be seen. Brightheart could hear one approaching but it was far away for now. Brambleclaw issued the order and the cats streamed onto the path. Brightheart raced as fast as she could. Relief hit her once her paws touched the grass.

"That was scarier than I thought it would be," panted Rosepaw.

"I totally agree," said Bumblepaw, "I thought a monster would come at me at any second and squish me!"

"Let's try to catch some fresh-kill and get some rest," ordered Brambleclaw, "We still have a long path ahead of us. Remember not to wander far from this spot."

"Let's go search over there," said Bumblepaw to Rosepaw. He glanced at Brightheart. She nodded, giving permission for him to go with Rosepaw.

"Brightheart!" called Cinderheart, "Let's search over here!"

_"I don't feel StarClan at all out here. That's a good thing. I hate having them around. Now we can kill anyone we want to!"_

_"Stop talking to like!"_ cried Brightheart as she and Cinderheart began looking around.

_"I only speak the truth. Now, look. There's a mouse over there."_

_"Thanks. I guess."_ Brightheart signaled to Cinderheart before dropping into a hunter's crouch.


	23. Chapter 23 Meeting Jingo

**Chapter 23. I'm sorry to all reviewers who leave anonymous reviews. I've been getting flames that personally insult me and I cannot stand that kind of stuff so anonymous reviews have been disabled for now. Sorry folks!**

The warriors and apprentices have been traveling for a couple of days. "I'm getting really tired of this traveling," sighed Cinderheart to Brightheart.

Brightheart nodded. The thunderpaths were the only exciting part of the trip. She was thankful on the other paw because of that. The other Brightheart had been quiet ever since the first day, giving Brightheart room to think in her own head.

"We are almost at the place where Jingo lives," informed Brambleclaw as they reached the edge of a huge collection of twolegged nests. "Remember what I said yesterday. We'll use the fences to travel. We don't want the dogs to get us."

Brightheart walked over to Bumblepaw. "I'll stay close to you," she said, "It will be like crossing the log to the gathering island, only you are going to have to do it longer."

Bumblepaw nodded, "Alright."

"Follow me," said Brambleclaw jumping onto the first fence. Berrynose was right behind him with Rosepaw following him. Cinderheart went next.

Dustpelt gestured for Brightheart and Bumblepaw to go. "I'll bring up the rear," he said.

Brightheart nodded. "Okay Bumblepaw. Up you go. Remember to watch where your paws go."

Bumblepaw nodded. His amber eye glinted with determination as he jumped onto the fence. For a second it looked like he was going to fall off, for his paws scrambled to find a foothold. Cinderheart turned around and grabbed Bumblepaw's scruff. She held on until Bumblepaw steadied himself.

"Thanks Cinderheart," mumbled Bumblepaw, his ears flat in shame.

"Don't worry about it Bumblepaw," said Brightheart from the ground, "You'll get a lot of practice here.

Bumblepaw nodded but he still didn't look at her. Cinderheart shrugged at Brightheart before moving over so Bumblepaw could move. The space now free, Brightheart jumped onto the fence with ease. Dustpelt was right behind her.

"Let's go quickly," said Brambleclaw, leading the way on the fences. Sometimes the fences were not connected so they had to jump from one to the other. Bumblepaw had almost fallen to the ground twice. Thanks to Cinderheart's quick instincts he didn't fall.

Brambleclaw paused on the fence, his ears flicked. Brightheart did the same, wondering what he was hearing. She heard it and the right side of her face began to hurt. Dogs. Plenty of them.

"Don't be frightened," called Brambleclaw from the front, "The dogs will not be able to reach us up here."

Brightheart tried not to look down as the dogs began appearing at the bottom of the fences. Their long fangs glinted as they tried to snap at the warriors. Brightheart tried not to think about those fangs. They reminded her of a time long ago. When she lost the right side of her face and where Swiftpaw went to StarClan.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Brightheart glanced back at Dustpelt. "What?"

He pointed with a paw to Brightheart's paws. She looked down and blinked in surprise. Her claws were digging into the wooden fence. "Oh." She forced herself to calm down and return her claws back in her paws.

"Maybe you should go back and wait until we return."

Brightheart shook her head, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Really. I am." She began walking quickly until she was almost stepping on Bumblepaw.

Thankfully they were almost to the empty Twolegged nest Brambleclaw had told them about. A couple more fences and they were there. They entered the other side of the fence leaving the dogs behind.

"Whose there?" a dark brown tabby she-cat flanked by a gray tom and a black tom stepped out of the nest.

"Jingo. Hussar. Jet," greeted Brambleclaw stepping forward.

The she-cat's eyes lost all suspicion. "Brambleclaw! I didn't think I would see you again! What brings you here?" She looked over the rest of the patrol. Her eyes stopped on Brightheart and they widened but she didn't say anything.

Brightheart had prepared herself mentally for this. However, she had forgotten what it felt like to be stared like that by fully grown cats. In the clans, all the older cats knew about her injury and they never showed it on their faces. However, these cats, Brightheart could see it. They didn't know what to make of her.

"It's rude to stare!" snapped Bumblepaw.

"Bumblepaw!" scolded Brambleclaw.

Jingo shook his head, "That's alright. We were being rude."

Brightheart placed her tail on Bumblepaw's shoulder and silently thanked StarClan that she had such a caring apprentice. Bumblepaw was a much better apprentice than Jayfeather was!

"We are here to see Purdy again," explained Brambleclaw, "We are hoping this time he will be home…and we want to know where Sol is."

"He did something again?" asked Hussar.

Brambleclaw nodded grimily. "If you don't mind, Jingo can you lead us there again? And right now? We are kind of in hurry."

Jingo nodded, "Of course." She flicked her tail and the two toms retreated back into the twolegged nest.

Before Jet went inside, he turned back. "Jingo. I just remembered. Didn't they leave a while ago? They left when the snow melted."

Brambleclaw's whiskers twitched. "Oh."

"This is going to be annoying," murmured Berrynose, low enough that Brambleclaw couldn't hear him. Brightheart could hear him because her ears were stronger than most to compensate for the lack of an eye. "And here I thought we would be able to go home soon."

"Then can you lead us in the direction they went?" asked Brambleclaw.

Jingo nodded. She went over to the fence and climbed onto it. She lifted a paw and pointed to the distance, "In that direction. I heard from some ally cats that they were past a huge thunderpath that always seems to have monsters on it."

"Thanks Jingo," he checked the sky. Not liking what he saw he returned his attention to Jingo. "Do you mind if we spend the night? It doesn't look like we will have enough time to get to the thunderpath before night falls."

"Of course," said Jingo, jumping off the fence.

"We will leave first thing in the morning," Brambleclaw commanded to the patrol as they entered the twolegged nest.

When Brightheart's eye adjusted she could see cats moving around. A small pile of fresh-kill was by the corner. The cats eyes gazed at the ThunderClan cats. Most relaxed after seeing Brambleclaw.

Brightheart lowered her head. She could feel them. Feel the stares burning into her pelt. All of them wondering how her half of her face was destroyed. _"Why can't they just come out and ask? Instead of staring at me from the corner of their eyes. I can't believe I forgot this feeling."_

A brown flecked kit approached Brightheart. "What happened to your face?" he asked.

"Frisk!" scolded a queen, who looked just like the kit, ran over. Her tail wrapped around the kit.

"That's alright," said Brightheart, happy that somecat decided to ask her about it. "A bunch of dogs attacked me when I was an apprentice-about ten moons," she added, remembering that these cats probably didn't know what apprentices were.

Frisk's eyes widen, "I hate dogs too!"

"That must have been horrible for you," said Jet.

"They have been tortured by the dogs we saw out there," explained Brambleclaw before grabbing a blackbird from the fresh-kill pile.

Brightheart nodded. That explained a lot. She listened as many of the cats approached her, talking about their bad experiences with the dogs. Many asked questions about how she was able to travel here while missing an eye. She explained everything she could, from Cloudtail sticking by her to Firestar giving her a new name.

It was only when the stars began to shine overhead was when Jingo interfered, telling them that Brightheart needed to rest for the trip tomorrow. Brightheart, exhausted from talking, walked over to where the other warriors were and collapsed next to Bumblepaw.

"Looks like they all love you," teased Cinderheart, "They think you are a miracle sent down from StarClan."

Brightheart's fur grew hot, "I didn't do anything."

"Can you be quiet," grumbled Berrynose, "I'm trying to sleep."

Brightheart was too exhausted to reply. She put her head down on her paws and fell fast asleep.


	24. Chapter 24 Sorrow Under Rain

**Chapter 24. This was probably one of the hardest chapters to write….**

The ThunderClan warriors woke up early the next morning. Some of the loners were bringing in fresh-kill for the ThunderClan cats.

"Here you go," said Merry, giving the two mice she was holding to Rosepaw and Bumblepaw.

"Thank you," said Rosepaw.

Bumblepaw nodded his thanks since he was already devouring the mouse.

Hussar, Jet and Jingo gave the warriors pieces of fresh-kill.

"Eat quickly," ordered Brambleclaw, "It's going to take us a while to get to the thunderpath."

"But not too quickly that you get a stomachache," reminded Dustpelt.

Brightheart looked down at the shrew at her paws. She noticed Frisk and his siblings were watching her. She flicked her tail at them before eating the shrew.

"Can you visit soon?" asked Frisk, walking over to her.

"I don't know," said Brightheart truthfully. "Maybe," she added noticing Frisk's fallen look.

"Yay!" cried Frisk, "Come back soon!"

Brightheart chuckled. She didn't want to break the kit's heart. Maybe the older loners could tell him about why she wasn't going to come back when he was older.

"Can we go now?" asked Berrynose after everyone was finished.

Bramblecaw nodded, "Yes. Let's."

The warriors bid farewell to the loners before leaving the nest. The sun did not shine for thousands of dark clouds covered the sky, giving the world a strange gray look.

"I hope it doesn't rain until we get past the thunderpath," said Dustpelt watching the clouds, "It will difficult to jump on fences when it is raining."

"Maybe you should stay here an extra day," offered Jingo from the entrance to the twolegged nest.

Brambleclaw shook his head, "We've already stayed longer than we should. Sol and Purdy might have gotten farther away. And we cannot keep eating the fresh-kill that belongs to you."

"Alright then," said Jingo. She looked like she was going to say something else but she turned back and joined her fellow loners.

"Let's get going," yowled Brambleclaw jumping onto the fence.

Cinderheart jumped up next and turned around. "I'm ready Bumblepaw."

Bumblepaw gritted his teeth and jumped. Like before, it looked like he was going to fall off before Cinderheart caught him.

"Don't worry Bumblepaw," said Brightheart jumping up next. "You'll get it soon. Don't worry about it."

Bumblepaw still lowered his head, "I hope I do…"

The cats began jumping over the fences again. They didn't get far before the dogs came again. Brightheart tried to ignore the barking and the fangs. Bumblepaw would glance back at her every now and then.

"How much longer do we have to go until we are out of the dogs' territory?" asked Dustpelt.

"Not much farther," said Brambleclaw, "It's past that twolegged nest we need to pass."

Brightheart sighed in relief. Finally. The dogs would leave them alone. She thought she would go crazy from their barking. As soon as they crossed the twolegged nest the dogs dropped back until they were finally gone.

"Finally," sighed Berrynose, "I think my ears are still ringing from all that barking."

As if StarClan wanted them to suffer, the clouds above released their water. Before a single cat could move they were soaked from head to paw.

"Great," groaned Berrynose, "Now we are RiverClan cats."

"Let's try to get past the large thunderpath," said Brambleclaw jumping off the fence and onto the hard gray surface next to a small thunderpath. "Maybe the monsters won't go on it because of the rain."

The cats continued to move. Their heads and tails were pushed to the ground as raindrops attacked them.

Soon they heard the roars of monsters. Picking up the pace they found the thunderpath they were looking for. Rainwater created a covering on the thunderpath. Monsters roared by, splashing the water onto the cats.

"Disgusting," spat Cinderheart., "I can't believe I swallowed that." She shook off her fur but the water was immediately replaced by the rain.

"Let's find an opening and cross together," said Brambleclaw, glancing back and forth.

They stood at the side of the thunderpath for what Brightheart thought was forever. How many monsters could there be on the thunderpath? Didn't they ever take a break?

"Get ready!" yowled Brambleclaw.

"We can do this Bumblepaw," said Brightheart to her apprentice.

"Now!" yowled Brambleclaw as a brief moment without monsters appeared.

Brightheart shot out onto the thunderpath like there was a fox on her tail. Water splashed out as her paws smacked against the thunderpath over and over. The rain seemed to get harder, pushing her towards the ground. She heard a yowl from her blind side. She ignored it and continued to run. When her paws hit the grass on the otherside she almost collapsed. She sucked in breaths of the cold rainy air.

"Bumblepaw!" screeched Rosepaw.

Brightheart looked around quickly. Where was Bumblepaw? She turned around and yowled. Bumblepaw was on the road, getting to his paws. It looked like he had tripped.

"A monster's coming! Bumblepaw! Get over here!" yowled Dustpelt.

Brightheart looked to the right. Dustpelt was right. A monster was coming. And on Bumblepaw's blind side. Brightheart was about to lift a paw to run onto the thunderpath and drag her apprentice towards them when her legs locked in place.

_"I will not let you risk our life for that half-kittypet!"_

Brightheart tried to call out but her voice did not work. She could only watch as Bumblepaw tried to move but his paws slip on the muddy water on the thunderpath. She watched as the monster got closer and closer to her apprentice. Bumblepaw's eye turned to the monster and widen. That was last time she saw Bumblepaw before the feet of the monster went over him.

"Bumblepaw…" she whispered, taking a step towards the thunderpath. She felt Dustpelt grabbing her scruff but she ignored him. "BUMBLEPAW!" she screamed trying to get on the thunderpath. Dustpelt shoved his paws against the ground.

Cinderheart licked Brightheart's fur over and over. She made soothing sounds trying to calm Brightheart down.

"Let me go Dustpelt!" screeched Brightheart, her paws scrapping against the ground, "Bumblepaw!"

_"Why?" _she screamed to her other self, "_I could have saved him!"_

_"What are you talking about?"_ snapped the other Brightheart, _"I will not let you die for a kittypet! He's a cripple!"_

_"He was my apprentice! He was my apprentice! How could you understand!? I want Bumblepaw back! Give him back!"_

When a small break in the monsters occurred, Brambleclaw and Berrynose ran out on the thunderpath and retrieved the body. They carefully put the body down near Brightheart. Dustpelt finally released her as she collapsed next to Bumblepaw.

"Bumblepaw…" she stammered shoving her muzzle into his cold fur. "Bumblepaw…"

"We'll give him a proper burial," whispered Brambleclaw in her ear.

Brightheart ignored him. _"He's dead. My apprentice. He's dead!"_

_"Calm down! There are always more apprentices."_

_"Shut up!"_ snarled Brightheart, _"Just shut up!"_ She did not know how long she laid there. The rain slamming her with all its power and yet she didn't care. The body before her, unmoving and broken. That was her apprentice. An apprentice now gone. A dear friend now gone.


	25. Chapter 25 To Get A New Apprentice

**Chapter 25. –puts flowers on Bumblepaw's grave- May he be happy in StarClan. Now. Onward with the plot!**

Brightheart opened her eye to sunlight streaming in through the tree the warriors were sleeping under. She turned to check on Bumblepaw. She paused, remembering what happened yesterday. Bumblepaw was dead. She could have saved him. If only the other her did not stop her. Then maybe Bumblepaw would still be alive.

She closed her one eye and thought of the burial that took place yesterday. Brightheart had refused to move from Bumblepaw's body until the almost half moon was rising over the now empty sky. Brambleclaw did Firestar's job, telling about all the good Bumblepaw did. How Bumblepaw would never let anything get him down and how he always tried to help everycat around him. After the speech, Berrynose and Dustpelt went to bury Bumblepaw's body while Brambleclaw and Rosepaw went to catch some fresh-kill. Cinderheart stayed behind to keep Brightheart company.

_"He deserved to be sat vigil for,"_ thought Brightheart, opening her eye again. The cats had moved past a line of bushes, to a small patch of forest that were near the large thunderpath.

_"In case you forgot, you are on a quest to find Sol here,"_ snapped the other Brightheart, _"There's no time to sit vigil. Sol will get away by then."_

Brightheart ignored the impulse to growl. _"Oh be quiet. If you…if you had let me I could have saved him!"_

_"And risk us being killed? I'm sorry but I don't understand why we need to risk our life for him."_

_"Would you risk your life for Dustpelt?"_

The other Brightheart was silent for a moment. _"It depends on the situation. If he messed up then he can die."_

Brightheart blinked. Here she had thought the other her would do anything to protect Dustpelt. However, it seemed like the other Brightheart truly did not care for anyone but herself.

"Are you alright?"

Brightheart turned to see Brambleclaw getting to his paws. "I'm alright," said Brightheart carefully. "It wasn't the first time I have lost somecat so suddenly." She swallowed down sobs that she knew was rising.

"You are talking about Swiftpaw right?"

Brightheart nodded.

Brambleclaw walked over and licked her on the head. "Don't worry. We will have a vigil for him back in camp when we return. He will understand why we are doing this from his place in StarClan."

Brightheart held the questions that were on the tip of her tongue. Was Bumblepaw really in StarClan right now? Did he know where it was? Did StarClan's territory extend to this area? Was Bumblepaw really lonely up there?

"Do you want to go hunting? It might help get your mind off things. You don't really have to bring something back."

Brightheart gave Brambleclaw a grateful look before getting to her paws. "I'll be back soon," she said.

"I'll send some of the other warriors to go out hunting," promised Brambleclaw.

Brightheart thanked him again before heading deeper into the small patch of forest. She could hear the sounds of a river nearby and decided to head over there.

_"You can't stay angry with me forever. We are one in the same. If you are angry with me, then you are angry with yourself."_

_"I'm already angry at myself,"_ snapped Brightheart as she roughly pushed her way through a growing bush. The branches caught her fur but she just yanked it out with force. _"I'm angry that I couldn't stop you from stopping me."_

Brightheart felt the other Brightheart give a mental shrug. _"That doesn't really matter to me. I'm just getting stronger. That's all. Ah. What a pretty river."_

Brightheart hated to admit it but the other her was right. Running along the banks were water plants. Since she was not from RiverClan she did not know the names of them but they looked like they accented the fast moving water. Nearby was a group of rocks that overlooked the river. The rocks reminded of Sunning Rocks from the old forest. Feeling nostalgic, she climbed on the rocks and sat there. The river water, Brightheart figured, was fast enough to kill a kit but an older cat could stand in it without worry. She thought the water might be as tall as half the length of her legs.

_"I can't believe we are just sitting here,"_ snapped the other Brightheart.

_"Shut up. Brambleclaw gave me time to grieve. For that I am grateful. I want to use the time as much as-"_

Rustling in the bushes behind her forced Brightheart to get to her paws. She sniffed the air but the wind was blowing against her back. She was in the wrong direction. She relaxed when Berrynose came out of the bushes.

"Oh. Brightheart."

Brightheart felt the other her suddenly perk up. _"I know how to get us a new apprentice."_

"Hi Berrynose. Did you catch any prey?" asked Brightheart. _"What are you talking about?"_

_"Listen to this. Firestar probably will not give you another apprentice in the future since the chance of another cripple cat is slim. So, why don't we just get an apprentice you have trained before? Like Rosepaw?"_

_"That's a good idea,"_ thought Brightheart, _"But how?"_

_"I'll take care of that."_

"Why are you on those rocks?" asked Berrynose, "Shouldn't you be out getting fresh-kill or something? We still need to travel."

Brightheart, now the other one, stretched up to her full height. She needed to be careful to make sure her plan worked. "I was just remembering the Sunning Rocks. The rocks were a piece of territory ThunderClan owed back in the old forest. We used to fight RiverClan for it all the time."

"Oh. Well sitting on some rocks will catch no prey. I don't smell anything here. You can sit on the rocks all you want." Berrynose turned to leave but Brightheart stopped him with a gasp. "What?" he asked.

"I can't believe you would say something like that," said Brightheart, "The Sunning Rocks were an important part of ThunderClan! In fact, I think you should get up here and see for yourself why we fought for the territory. These rocks aren't the same but they will work."

_"How is this going to help us train Rosepaw?"_

_"Patience. Just wait."_ Brightheart stepped to the side, "Come on up here. Or are you not a true ThunderClan warrior? I remember Brambleclaw loved sunning himself on the rocks back when he was a warrior."

Berrynose's eyes widen and he ran up the pile of rocks until he was right next to Brightheart. "I don't feel anything," said the cream colored tom, looking around.

"Of course you don't," said Brightheart. She moved back a bit. "But now, I will be taking your apprentice."

"What are you talking about?" spat Berrynose, suddenly turning hostile. He turned his head to Brightheart, "Rosepaw is my apprentice. You may have gotten to train her for a day but you will not have her to replace Bumblepaw."

Brightheart did not even react. "Do you really think I wanted to train a cripple? Firestar made a very bad choice there. Along with the choice of giving Rosepaw to you." She charged forward and pushed her whole weight against Berrynose.

The tom yowled and tried to keep his footing on the slippery rocks but he was able to find no purchase. He tumbled into the water with a loud splash. _"What are you doing?"_ screamed Brighthheart.

_"Opening up Rosepaw for a new mentor."_

Brightheart leapt from the rocks, landing on Berrynose before the tom could get up. The tom thrashed wildly but Brightheart shifted her weight until she had a better footing. His head tried to lift above the water but Brightheart used a paw to shove it back under.

_"Stop it! You're going to kill him! I don't need an apprentice that badly!"_

The other Brightheart ignored Brightheart's pleas. Instead she pushed Berrynose's head deeper into the sand at the bottom of the river. Brightheart wept from within herself. This was not like Leafpool's death. Leafpool had died from deathberries. This time her paws would be actually soiled.

After what seemed like forever, Berrynose's struggles weakened until finally he did stir. Brightheart moved her paw away from his head but she still kept her weight on him. When he did not move or try to attack, Brightheart removed her whole weight off Berrynose. Immediately the river took over, dragging the tom's body with it downstream.

_"That takes care of that."_

_"You…you killed him!"_

_"So? He would never let you train Rosepaw. I was just helping you. Now. Let's get back to the others."_ She climbed out of the river and shook her fur off before returning to the others.


	26. Chapter 26 Finding Sol

**Chapter 26. Death count: 2. Thanks for all the reviews for this story. It really helps me keep wanting to write it. And good news for Brightheart in the real series. It seems that she will be getting an apprentice in Omen of the Stars!**

Brightheart returned to the others. Cinderheart beckoned her over and gave Brightheart a scrawny mouse. "Are you sure you are okay to travel?" asked the she-cat.

Brightheart nodded. "Of course. I…" She swallowed and tried again. "I know Bumblepaw would want us to keep going." Inwardly, she said, _"How do you like my acting?"_

_"Just leave me alone," _whispered Brightheart shoving herself into a corner of herself. _"You are just a murderer."_

The other Brightheart inwardly rolled her eye. _"Oh stop being a kit. You didn't cry this much when Leafpool was killed."_

_"Because I was shocked by the fact that Squirrelflight's kits were hers!"_

"Where did Berrynose get to?" growled Brambleclaw, "He should have been back by now." His expression transformed into worry. "I wonder if a twolegged got him."

Dustpelt got up, finished with his vole. "Cinderheart and I will look around. Maybe he got caught up catching prey or something."

"We'll be right back," promised Cinderheart.

Brightheart watched as the two entered the forest. She knew it would be alright. After she had climbed out of the river, she had soaked some moss with water and ran it along the rocks to confuse the scents on it. All the warriors would find was that Berrynose just disappeared.

Knowing it was time, she got up and walked over to Rosepaw. "Uh, do you want to train for a bit? You know, while we are waiting for the others to return?" She hoped her voice sounded lost, devoid of hope.

The dark cream cat looked up at Brightheart. "Uh sure. But don't you want to…" She trailed off, not knowing if it would offend Brightheart or not.

"Don't worry. This will make me feel better."

"Okay then," said Rosepaw.

Brambleclaw, who was watching the forest, nodded to Brightheart. "Go ahead. But make sure to stay in this area. I don't want to lose you two too."

_"Awwwww. Looks like he thinks training Rosepaw can help with your grieving. Isn't that funny?"_

_"I'm not speaking to you!"_

_"Geez. Don't need to get all huffy about it."_ Out loud she said, "Let's go over to that grass over there. It looks soft enough to practice fighting on."

Rosepaw nodded. The two immediately got to work. Rosepaw showed Brightheart all the moves she had learned from Berrynose. Brightheart corrected a few and showed her the better way to do it. They then got started on new fighting moves, like what to do if the enemy was bigger than you. Rosepaw was getting the hang of it just as Dustpelt and Cinderheart returned.

"Finally," said Brambleclaw, "I thought I would have to send out a search party to find you two!"

Brightheart and Rosepaw walked over to hear the cats' report. "Did you find him?" asked Rosepaw. Her eyes were wide.

Dustpelt shook his head. "His scent led up to the river nearby but then it vanishes."

"We also scented you there Brightheart," said Cinderheart.

Brightheart nodded. "Yes. I was there. Those rocks reminded me of Sunning Rocks in the old forest so I sat there for a while. I didn't see Berrynose there though."

Dustpelt nodded. "They do remind me of Sunning Rocks."

"What do we do?" asked Rosepaw. "What about my brother?"

"How about the river?" asked Brambleclaw, "Could he have fallen in?"

"The water's not deep enough to kill him," informed Cinderheart, "He would have been able to get out. I even stepped in it myself."

"We should look for him," said Brambleclaw, 'Maybe he crossed the river?"

"His scent is not on the other side."

_"Time for me to step in"_ thought the other Brightheart. "But what about Sol?" she asked, "He's getting farther and farther from us. He…Bumblepaw….would still be here if it wasn't for Sol. I want to find him! Isn't that why we came here? To find Sol and bring him back to ThunderClan for the deaths of Ashfur and Leafpool." Brightheart released a small sob.

_"They will never buy your act!"_ snapped Brightheart.

_"That's what you think. All they see is a pathetic cat who is grieving for an apprentice who shouldn't have died."_

"But Berrynose could be still out there," began Bramblelcaw.

Brightheart shook her head and backed up a step. "You don't care about finding Sol! All you care about is finding Berrynose because he was your apprentice Brambleclaw! What about my apprentice? Bumblepaw wouldn't have died if it wasn't for Sol! If you don't want to find him then I will!"

_"You're going too far!"_ cried Brightheart.

_"No I am not. Remember. I am a sensitive she-cat grieving for my dead apprentice. Look at their expressions. They pity us."_

"Brightheart," Cinderheart took a step towards her.

Brightheart backed up a step. "No! You all care about Berrynose! You care nothing about finding Sol!" She turned and ran towards the next thunderpath. She heard yowls for her to come back but she ignored them. As soon as she was out of their sight she slowed to a walk but continued to head towards the thunderpath. The smell and sounds in the air told her she was close.

_"That went well,"_ thought the other Brightheart cheerfully.

_"What are you talking about!? They probably think I'm crazy now!"_

_"Not crazy. Distraught. There's a difference."_ Brightheart wrinkled her nose as the thunderpath came within sight. Like the other one, this one had a never-ending stream of monsters._ "Do monsters ever take a break?"_

"Brightheart! Wait up!" Cinderheart ran up to her. "Good thing I caught up to you before you crossed the thunderpath."

Brightheart immediately went back to her distraught she-cat role. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be off looking for Berrynose?"

"I volunteered to go with you. Somehow I think I should comfort you."

In that moment Brightheart thought Cinderheart looked like Cinderpelt. She shook her head. That was mouse-brained. Of course they were. Cinderpelt would have been Cinderheart's aunt if she was alive.

"What about the others?"

"They are going to look for Berrynose for a bit longer. They will catch up to us by nightfall."

"Oh."

Cinderheart's ears perked. "Look! An opening is coming."

Brightheart nodded. The two she-cats waited until the opening was right in front of them before running onto the thunderpath. Her paws slapped the ground viciously as she struggled to get across before the next monster came. There was no way she would end up like Bumblepaw. Dying under a monster was such a waste. At least in battle death made sense.

The she-cats reached the other side and collapsed on the grass. Monsters whizzed behind them in a hurry to get to wherever monsters went.

"That was hard," panted Cinderheart. "Somehow I think it was harder than the one from yesterday." She paused and glanced at Brightheart.

"That's true," agreed Brightheart. She got up and looked around. They were in another small stretch of forest. She could hear another thunderpath beyond the trees.

"Brightheart. Do you smell that?" whispered Cinderheart.

Brightheart sniffed the air and cackled inside. "Well well. This is convient."

The she-cats turned their heads. "Hey," snapped Brightheart to a white and brown tabby tom sitting under a tree. His pale yellow eyes watched the she-cats. "We've been looking for you, Sol."

**It took me a couple of minutes to figure out which Sol description to use since he used to be a tortie. But in the end I decided to go with the one in Sunrise.**


	27. Chapter 27 Begining The Trip Back

**Chapter 27! Yes I know not a lot happens in this chapter but I needed to get it out of the way so the next chapter can have them almost to ThunderClan. Traveling is sometimes very hard to write.**

The tabby got up and eyed the two she-cats. "ThunderClan cats by your smell."

"That's right," snapped Brightheart stepping towards Sol. "We are from ThunderClan. You will come with us back to ThunderClan."

"Are you two the only ones ThunderClan chose?" Sol cocked his head to the side, his eyes showed a mix of emotion.

"No," spoke up Cinderheart, stepping forward until she was standing shoulder to shoulder with Brightheart. "There are others but they are…busy at the moment."

"Oh? With what?"

"None of your business," hissed Brightheart. This was ridiculous. She did not want to be here all day trying to talk to him. "Just come with us. If you don't we'll bring you back with force."

"Alright. I guess I'll have to listen to you then," his eyes sparkled with amusement. Brightheart suddenly had the urge to slash the tom across the face.

_"This tom is infuriating! I want to tear him to shreds!"_ The other Brightheart waited but Brightheart did not make a remark back. _"What's wrong with you? Hedgehog got your tongue?"_

No reply.

Mentally shrugging, the other Brightheart returned her attention to Sol. "Cinderheart. You stay behind him. We don't want him slipping through our paws now."

Cinderheart obeyed the order. Once she was behind Sol, Brightheart turned around and they stood by the thunderpath. Brightheart wondered how the twolegs saw them from their monsters. Did it look weird? Two she-cats on opposite sides of a tom? _"Why am I even bothering? Twolegs are nothing more than pests."_

"An opening is coming! Get ready!" yowled Cinderheart.

"You better cross with us," hissed Brightheart in one of Sol's large ears. "If you don't, I'll drag you across myself and you will be missing a limb or two."

Sol's whiskers twitched in amusement. "You are an extremely interesting she-cat."

Brightheart didn't make a remark for the opening was in front of them. The three cats raced across the thunderpath. Brightheart heard screeches from monsters on her left but she did not stop. Once she was at the other side she turned and checked Cinderheart and Sol. They both made it over okay. She saw a twoleg stick his head out of a monster and yowl at the cats.

"We better get going," said Sol, "The twoleg might come after us."

"Can you take us back to the others?" Brightheart asked Cinderheart.

The gray she-cat nodded before taking the lead. Brightheart dropped to the back. "So?" asked Sol as they made their way through the small patch of forest. "Why do you want me to return to ThunderClan? Do you believe me that StarClan doesn't have all the answers."

"Just shut your muzzle," snapped Brightheart, "Or you will miss your tail."

Sol turned his head and looked back at Brightheart. "You seem very interesting. There's something about you…"

"Don't try to flatter me," snarled Brightheart. She wondered if Sol had an idea that there were two Brighthearts. She wouldn't put it past him. He was tricky sort. He needed to be watched.

"There they are. Brambleclaw! We found him!"

Brambleclaw looked up from the bush he was sniffing. He padded over. "Good work you two."

Brightheart ignored the urge to snarl. Brambleclaw didn't do anything to help them find Sol. He cared too much for his apprentice.

_"You will never understand the bond between apprentice and mentor,"_ hissed Brightheart.

_"Oh. There you are. Here I thought you had disappeared on me."_

_"Just shut up. I am still not speaking to you."_

_"You just did."_

Brightheart was silent. The other Brightheart inwardly rolled her eye. Brightheart could be so kitish at times.

"Did you find Berrynose?" asked Cinderheart.

Brambleclaw shook his head, "No."

"Where's Dustpelt?" asked Brightheart noticing that he wasn't in the clearing.

"Following the river," replied Brambleclaw"I told him and Rosepaw to return by sunhigh."

Brightheart checked the sky. They should have been back by now. Her fur bristled. If Brambleclaw decision cost Dustpelt's life then he would be the next death. Her ears perked as she heard the sounds of cats walking through the undergrowth.

Dustpelt and Rosepaw entered the small clearing. The two cats blinked when they saw Sol but did not say anything about it. "The river leads to fast moving water with large rocks," reported Dustpelt, "If Berrynose was somehow swept downstream, he would not survive being bashed against those rocks."

Rosepaw shook her head sadly. "I hope my brother is happy in StarClan."

"But you didn't find a body," persisted Brambleclaw, "He could still be alive. Maybe a twolegs got him."

Dustpelt's amber eyes were filled with sympathy. "Brambleclaw. You need to accept the fact that Berrynose might not be coming back."

"Dustpelt. How can you say such a thing?" said Brambleclaw. Brightheart could tell the large tom was trying to keep his cool. Brightheart's eye narrowed. If he dared to attack Dustpelt she would jump in and help him. Maybe she could "accidently" claw Brambleclaw's neck and say he was struggling too much and the claws nicked him deep.

"You are deputy Brambleclaw," reminded Dustpelt, "Your duty is to the clan." His eyes softened, "I know how it feels to lose an apprentice. Ashfur was a great apprentice. Think about Firestar. Remember when Graystripe was captured? He did not choose a deputy for moons and the clan was seen in a weaker light to the other clans."

"But Graystripe came back," Brambleclaw snapped.

Dustpelt nodded, "Yes. And Berrynose will come back too. He will realize that and return to the lake. Graystripe did it without knowing where we went. Berrynose can do it as well."

Brambleclaw was silent. Brightheart tried not to fidget. It was this tom's choice whether they went home or not. "Alright," said Brambleclaw, "We'll head back."

"Good thing your fight is over," said Sol, sitting down, "I'm starving. Catch me some fresh-kill?"


	28. Chapter 28 A Talk With Sol

**Chapter 28. Another extremely long chapter. There's also a poll up. I want to know which death was your favorite.**

"I see the hills of WindClan!" cried Rosepaw.

Brightheart sighed in relief. They were finally almost home. The trip seemed to be longer on the way back. It was probably because of all the stuff that happened. She glanced back at Sol who was in the middle of the patrol. Ever since he joined up with them he had been an annoyance. He complained when he was tired and didn't hunt for himself. The other Brightheart had thoughts of killing him on numerous occasions while they were returning.

"Finally," said Sol, "For a while there it seemed like we were lost."

_"I'll make him lost in the Dark Forest!"_ snarled the other Brightheart.

Brightheart ignored her. Although she did not want to be in the control of a body which had killed, if she was in control then the other Brightheart couldn't kill anycat. She didn't want to see another cat die at her paws.

_"You say that now,"_ said the other Brightheart, _"But what if another clan attacks? You will have to defend your clan and you might have to kill a cat."_

Brightheart ignored the other her. She didn't want to think about that right now.

"Remember to stay five tail lengths from the lake," ordered Brambleclaw as the cats entered WindClan territory. Rosepaw didn't even glance at the barn. She didn't have any ties to it like Berrynose did.

The cats stayed closer to the lake than on the trip there. Brightheart kept glancing at the moorlands. Was Onestar watching her from somewhere out there? Did he still think Brightheart had the drooling illness?

"You okay?" asked Cinderheart walking next to her. "You keep glancing at the moorland."

"I'm fine," said Brightheart, "I'm just worried about Onestar."

"Oh, I forgot about that. Well I hope he isn't around. That was weird you know? The way he looked at you like that."

Brightheart noticed Sol seemed very interested in their conversation. He had shifted his walking gait until he was almost walking next to the two she-cats. "Can I help you?" snapped Brightheart. She was surprised that she could release as much anger as the other her.

"Nothing," said Sol, walking a bit faster until he was walking in his old spot again.

"I can't wait until we can get rid of him," murmured Cinderheart.

"We are almost home!" announced Dustpelt from the front.

Brightheart looked ahead and almost yowled in happiness. The trees of ThunderClan were there. They were almost home. She couldn't wait to see Cloudtail and Whitewing again. She wondered how the kits were doing. Were they the right size? Would they be strong enough to make it into apprenticeship?

As soon as the trees covered the cats they made their way to the camp. The patrol was suddenly in a talking mood. Many of the cats talked about what they would do once they were back. When they entered camp, they were met with greetings from their clan members as well as jeers to Sol.

"Murderer!"

"You must not have thought we could find you!"

The tom ignored them. In fact he looked like the jeers just bore him.

"Welcome back!" said Firestar walking over to the patrol, "I will call a meeting now." He jumped onto the High Ledge and yowled, "Let all cats able to catch their own prey gather here under the High Ledge."

"Brightheart."

Brightheart turned to see Cloudtail. She purred as her mate licked her shoulder. "I missed you." She paused. For some reason she didn't really feel happy seeing her mate. The love that used to be there seemed to have vanished. _"Why am I worried? I'm probably just tired after all that traveling."_

"Sol," began Firestar, looking down at the tom. Anger burned within the tom's green eyes. The sun shining off his pelt made him seem like he was on fire. "I would like to know if you were on the territory recently."

"Only before the leaf bare," replied Sol. He cocked his head to the side"Why? Did something happen?"

Firestar's tail twitched angrily but he kept his cool. Brightheart was impressed. She knew if she was in his position she would have jumped on him and attacked him.

"You killed my sister!" yowled Squirrelflight stepping out of the crowd of cats. "Admit it! You somehow were able to kill my sister!"

"Squirrelflight," Brambleclaw left the patrol group and walked over to his mate.

_"I wonder if he would comfort her like that if he knew the truth about the kits,"_ sneered the other Brightheart.

Brightheart dug her claws into the ground. She felt terrible for Brambleclaw but she didn't want to be the one to tell him. The three right now thought they were loners or something that were taken in. Maybe it would better to leave it like that for now.

_"That's what you think."_

"I do not know what you are talking about," said Sol, his whiskers twitching in amusement.

"Take him to the empty den and have him guarded," ordered Firestar. It looked like he couldn't push Sol for his kit's death after all. Maybe he was too afraid to find out that Sol wasn't the killer, "Thornclaw, Brackenfur. Take him there. You two take the first shift."

The two golden tabbies nodded and led Sol to the den. The long haired tabby didn't even struggle. He just walked with them.

Firestar sighed and it looked like he was going to end the meeting but Brambleclaw stepped forward. "Firestar. We did not make the trip without casualties. Bumblepaw….he passed onto StarClan while he were traveling and Berrynose is missing."

"Bumblepaw," Graystripe's eyes widen.

Millie on the other paw broke down. She began sobbing for the apprentice that never got to be a warrior. "He was so young and caring. Why?"

"It will be alright," purred Graystripe, licking his mate on the head.

"Berrynose is missing?" yowled Daisy, coming out of the nursery, "Why? Why didn't you stay to find him? Look for him!"

_"Why don't you be quiet you ungrateful piece of foxdung_," snarled the other Brightheart, _"How dare you order us around when you do nothing yourself!?"_

"Daisy." Brightheart's mouth almost fell in shock as Cloudtail went to her side and began comforting the she-cat.

_"What the!? That piece of foxdung must have got your mate while we were gone. Where's Hollyleaf!? Oh. There she is. Hmmmm."_

Brightheart didn't like what the other her was "hmmm"ing about.

"Rosepaw needs a new mentor," said Brambleclaw. "Brightheart did a good job of training her while we were on the patrol."

Brightheart felt her heart fill with pride. Brambleclaw knew she would be a good mentor!

Firestar nodded. "Right. Lionblaze you may take over Rosepaw's training. That is all." The tom jumped off the High Ledge and headed into his den. Sandstorm broke away from the other cats and went to join her mate. Brightheart couldn't believe this! She still didn't get to train Rosepaw officially!

"I'm sorry you were not able to train Rosepaw," said Dustpelt to Brightheart. The dark brown tabby shook his head, "I don't know why Firestar keeps forgotting about you."

"I'll put in a good word for you," promised Brambleclaw, "You may be related to Whitewing's kits but I know you treat your apprentices like your kits so I might be able to get Swiftkit or Sparrowkit. You will get an apprentice before you join the elders."

Brightheart thanked the tom before he went to join Firestar in his den. Before he left however Brambleclaw turned to Dustpelt, "Can you figure out the rest of the guard shifts?"

Dustpelt nodded.

Suddenly Brightheart lost control of her body. "May I have the night shift tonight with Hollyleaf?" she asked.

Dustpelt was surprised but he nodded, "Sure. I will tell her."

_"Here's your body back! Have fun for the rest of the day!"_

_"Thanks…I think…"_ Brightheart did not know what the other her was up to and she didn't want to know. She sighed and headed for the nursery to check on Whitewing.

Lineline

The almost half moon was in the sky when Brightheart was awoken by Birchfall. Blinking away sleep she slipped out of the den and headed for the small den that Sol was in. Brightheart saw Hollyleaf in the shadows; the only thing giving her away was her green eyes.

Brightheart settled next to Hollyleaf and said softly, "I want a report. Tell me what happened in the camp when I was gone."

"Nothing much. The usual I guess."

Brightheart glared at Hollyleaf. "I don't think so," she hissed trying to keep her voice low. "Cloudtail was all over Daisy. That isn't the usual. Anyway. Did anything happen with the other clans?"

"Leopardstar came by," whispered Hollyleaf, "She came into camp, looked around and left. It looked like she was looking for somecat. I think that's it, other than the Cloudtail, Daisy thing."

_"Leopardstar is already feeling pressure? That's funny. I'm going to have to pay her a visit later. Hmmmm. Tomorrow is the medicine cat gathering. I could use that."_

Brightheart noticed Hollyleaf kept looking at the den. "You want to speak with Sol about the prophecy don't you?" Hollyleaf jumped but didn't say anything. "Well let's go then."

Brightheart felt Hollyleaf's hesitation. The she-cat was probably thinking if this went against the warrior code or not.

"Fine. You wait out here. Don't come in. No matter how long it takes."

Hollyleaf nodded.

Brightheart went inside. She wasn't surprised to see Sol waiting for her. The tom could hear everything that was going on outside. "So?" said Brightheart, "Care to tell me about it?"

"If you get me out of here," said Sol.

Brightheart tried not to laugh. He was acting the way she thought he would. "Alright. See the rocks behind you? You can climb up them to get to the outside. Now hurry up. We need to be finished before my shift ends."

Sol got to his paws. If he suspected anything he didn't say it. Brightheart whispered where to place each paw as they slowly climbed out of the den. Brightheart glanced back to check on Hollyleaf but the she-cat faced forward. She didn't look in their direction when Sol accidently kicked some rocks.

_"Well well. It looks like she thinks if she doesn't look she has nothing to do with this. Smart cat. I don't want to kill her too soon."_

Once Sol reached the top, Brightheart gave him a push to send up and into the forest. Brightheart was next to him in a heartbeat. Without a word Brightheart led the way through ThunderClan territory until they were on the border of WindClan and ThunderClan.

"So?" asked Brightheart, "Tell me all about this prophecy. I know that those three have some sort of power."

"I want you to bring the three to me."

Brightheart growled at him. "What?"

"I want you to bring them to me. Then I will tell you about the prophecy along with them."

Brightheart examined Sol in the moonlight. From the tom's stance, he seemed cocky. _"He wants to use me!"_ she realized. _"He thinks he can have control over me."_

"So?" asked Sol, "Shall you bring them? Or do I need to wait until they seek me out myself?"

"No way," sneered Brightheart, "You really think I will listen to you?" With a quick movement she was on Sol's back, her claws pressed against him throat. "You will tell me. I had to deal with you the whole trip and I cannot stand to be in your presence."

"But if you kill me then you won't get it," said Sol, "You will have nothing."

Brightheart laughed, "You are a mousebrained cat. I don't need you. I have Hollyleaf under my grasp. I'll find out what she knows. I don't need your dumb information." Before Sol could speak again Brightheart slit his throat. "This will keep you silent forever. And it will make ThunderClan even more confused."

Once she was sure he was dead she climbed off the body and sniffed the air. After that, she grabbed Sol's scruff and dragged the body to a patch of sweet smelling flowers. She rolled him and herself in the flowers before dragging Sol's body over the WindClan border. Once that was done she turned and headed for the stream. It would be difficult to explain why she smelled like flowers.


	29. Chapter 29 Sandstorm's Suspicion

**Chapter 29. It seems the winner to the last poll was Sol's death. Interesting. Okay, the next poll might affect Brightheart's killing rate.(still haven't figured out how many Brightheart will kill in the end).**

Brightheart awoke with a start. She was confused at first to where she was. She blinked, remembered that she was back in camp. _"Didn't I have a night watch for Sol? I wonder why no cat woke me up."_

Her ears flicked forward. She could hear a commotion coming from outside.

"I guess they noticed," murmured Hollyleaf while she was leaving the den.

Brightheart wondered what Hollyleaf was talking about. She got up and left the den. Almost the whole clan was gathered around the den that Sol was in. She walked over to the group of cats. "What's going on?" she asked.

"It seems Sol somehow escaped sometime in the night," said Poppyfrost turning towards Brightheart. The tortoiseshell she-cat's tail flicked uneasily behind her. Her blue eyes darted around like Sol would be in the shadows around them.

Brightheart felt cold. _"Hey. Are you there?"_

"_What?"_ snapped the other her, _"I was taking a lovely nap until you woke me up. This better be important."_

"_Last night. When we were said to guard Sol. Did you…did you take over?" _The other Brightheart was silent, confirming Brightheart's suspicion. _"How could you? You…you let him escape!? Hollyleaf. Does she know?"_

"_Of course she does. She will do anything I say as long as it protects the warrior code."_ The other Brightheart laughed, _"She is so much fun to manipulate. She stayed in camp while I took care of Sol. Listen to this. When I came back she didn't say anything about it at all!"_

"_I can't believe you,"_ spat Brightheart.

Brightheart could feel the other her shrug. _"You just don't understand anything. He was a pain. He wouldn't do anything to help us get revenge on Firestar. Why should we keep him around then? Plus he might slip up and Hollyleaf or us could look like the murderers."_

"Firestar!"

Brightheart turned around in time to see Cloudtail, Sorreltail and Hazeltail enter the camp.

The large group of cats around the den moved aside to let Firestar pass. The orange tom's fur looked ruffled and his green eyes were tired.

"We found Sol," said Cloudtail stepping forward.

"Where is he?" asked Firestar. Brightheart heard something in the undertone of the leader's voice. It sounded like he hated Sol.

"Dead," spoke up Sorreltail, "We could not see what killed him but he was on WindClan territory."

That got the clan riled up.

"How did Sol get on WindClan territory?"

"He escaped camp! How am I supposed to feel safe?" yowled Daisy.

"It's a good thing Sol didn't try to take Sparrowkit and Swiftkit," Birchfall said to Whitewing.

Whitewing placed her tail over her kits as if to protect them. "If he tried to take them, I would kill him myself."

"Did you figure out who did it?" asked Firestar to Cloudtail, ignoring the sounds of his clan around him.

Cloudtail shook his head. "Whoever it was covered his scent with the sweet smelling flowers on the border. The scent took us to the river but we lost it there. I think the cat either stayed in the water or disguised his scent another way."

The other Brightheart purred in satisfaction._ "I did a pretty good job. Even Cloudtail couldn't tell!"_

"Cloudtail. You come with me to the border. Hazeltail, Sorreltail you two come as well. Brambleclaw. You are in charge of the camp." With a quick flick of his tail the four warriors were gone.

"Graystripe," ordered Brambleclaw, "Get together a hunting patrol. The pile is looking empty."

Brightheart ignored the moving of cats around her. She was still in shock. This was just like Leafpool's death. Only Brightheart never realized that the other her was awake and doing something with their body. She was scared. The other Brightheart was getting too strong. What if one day Brightheart vanished leaving only the other her? What would happen then? What would happen to her? Would she go to sleep forever and never wake up?

"Brightheart?"

Brightheart broke out of her thoughts and looked at her daughter. "Yes Whitewing?"

"Your legs were shaking. Is something wrong?" Whitewing looked like she was going to get up and check on her mother but the kits at the crook of her belly stopped her. Instead, Brightheart walked over to her.

"I'm fine," said Brightheart trying to keep her voice light, "I was just thinking of the journey back here. We found Sol and brought him back here but now he's dead."

"That is horrible. I wonder who killed him and how? Some of the others were thinking he escaped from the back. Although I don't know how he would be able to climb the rocks without the guard hearing."

Brightheart wondered that herself. Did the other her help Sol? Did Hollyleaf ignore the sounds of the climb? She hated having holes in her memory. She wanted to know what she did.

"Brightheart. Are you rested enough to come on a patrol?" asked Spiderleg coming over.

Brightheart nodded. She said goodbye to her daughter before joining Sandstorm, Mousewhisker and Spiderleg on the border patrol. The four cats headed for the ShadowClan border in silence. Brightheart guessed that the two toms thought anything they say might upset Sandstorm.

"ShadowClan has been very quiet recently," spoke up Spiderleg, "They haven't got involved in a border problem for a while now."

"Maybe they finally realized that ThunderClan is no one to mess with!" said Mousewhisker. Unlike his younger siblings, he considered Spiderleg to be another member of the clan with no family connection to him.

Brightheart walked faster until she was walking shoulder to shoulder to Sandstorm. Behind them the toms continued to discuss ShadowClan. "You okay?" Brightheart asked the ginger she-cat.

"I'm fine," said Sandstorm, "Sol…call me crazy but I think he was struck down by somecat following StarClan's will. At least, that's what I hope. Like I hope that Sol is actually the killer. Did he tell you anything on the journey back? Like about what he did?"

Brightheart shook her head, "No. He didn't."

Sandstorm sighed, "I knew it. I don't want to say this in front of Firestar yet but I think the one who killed Leafpool wasn't Sol but some other cat."

Brightheart almost tripped. Could it be possible that Sandstorm figured it out? "Do you have any idea who did it?" she asked, hoping her voice only had curiosity in it.

"I hate to say it but I think its somecat in ThunderClan. Try to keep it to yourself but I know that some cats in the clan looked down on her for running away with Crowfeather. I think somecat killed her because of that." Sandstorm glanced back at the toms but they did not seem to notice the she-cats dark conversation.

"That sounds possible," said Brightheart, "I…I promise to listen around camp. Maybe the cat will slip up."

"Thanks Brightheart," Sandstorm's whiskers twitched in gratitude, "I know I can trust you with this."

Brightheart looked away. She didn't deserve Sandstorm's trust. She was the one who killed Leafpool.

"ThunderClan."

Russetfur's voice.

The four cats looked in front of them. They were now near the Thunder-Shadow border. On the ShadowClan side was Russetfur, Snaketail, Scorchpaw and Kinkfur.

"Don't start any unnecessary trouble," said Sandstorm to the ThunderClan warriors before approaching the border.


	30. Chapter 30 A Plan With RiverClan

**Chapter 30! The death poll is still up if case you haven't voted yet.**

"We are not doing anything wrong," said Sandstorm calmly, stopping inside the ThunderClan border. Mousewhisker, Spiderleg and Brightheart stood behind her, ready to attack the ShadowClan warriors if necessary.

_"This is interesting!"_ it felt like the other Brightheart was getting up and standing right next to Brightheart.

_"Don't you dare do anything!"_ cried Brightheart, _"You will not kill Sandstorm! I won't let you."_

_"I don't see any reason to kill her. Yet."_

Brightheart ignored the threat for now. She needed to pay attention to the threat in front of her.

"The wind has been telling me that you have Sol," said Russetfur.

Sandstorm blinked and Brightheart did the same. Did this mean that WindClan was watching them when they brought Sol back?

_"What a bunch of cowards,"_ said the other Brightheart, _"Telling ShadowClan about it? They are going to be punished for this."_ She laughed, _"And I know the perfect way to do it. I really love the fact that I got Leopardstar in my paws."_

Brightheart really did not like what the other her was thinking.

"Sol is dead so you don't need to worry," spoke up Mousewhisker, "He was found dead on WindClan territory."

Russetfur's whiskers twitched. Sandstorm turned and glared at Mousewhisker who shrank back from the gaze.

"And how could that happen?" sneered Snaketail, "Doesn't that mean that somecat killed him? And how did this happen?"

"I wonder if ThunderClan cats will let anyone into their camp," Scorchpaw put in, "They probably just walked out with Sol and they were too lazy to notice."

Spiderleg placed his tail in front of Mousewhisker in case the tom tried to attack. From his body language it looked like gray and white tom wanted to claw Scorchpaw's ears off.

"We are looking into what happened to Sol," said Sandstorm, her voice calm and collected. Brightheart was impressed that she could keep her cool. "It is not a concern of ShadowClan."

"We'll see about that," said Russetfur. She gestured for her warriors to follow her back into the undergrowth of ShadowClan.

Sandstorm did not move from her spot until the cats were gone. She sighed and turned to the others. "That was not a good sign. It could mean that WindClan and ShadowClan have an alliance right now."

"I'm sorry," said Mousewhisker, lowering his head, "I shouldn't have blabbed."

"Sorry catches no prey," said Spiderleg, "Let's get back to camp and report this to Firestar."

"Brightheart. You go and do that," ordered Sandstorm, "The rest of us will continue the patrol."

Brightheart nodded, turned and ran in the direction of the camp. She checked the sky. It was almost sun-high. She quickened her pace. Once she returned to camp, she noticed Firestar had just gotten back with Sorreltail, Cloudtail and Hazeltail.

"Firestar!" she called, running over.

"What is it?" asked Firestar.

Brightheart hesitated. Firestar looked like he was an elder. Did she really want to burden him with this news? She shook her head. What was she thinking? Of course Firestar needed to know. "ShadowClan knows about Sol. It seems like WindClan told them about us bringing Sol."

"Do they know about Sol's death?" asked Cloudtail.

Brightheart nodded but she didn't say how. She didn't want to get Mousewhisker in trouble.

"Let's not do anything for now," said Firestar, "We'll see what happens. Thank you Brightheart."

Brightheart felt pride well up within her. Firestar had thanked her! She knew going back to the patrol wouldn't help at all so she entered camp after Firestar's patrol did.

Lineline

That night Brightheart got up from her spot next to Cloudtail. Cloudtail looked up at her in confusion, the rabbit they were sharing was half eaten. "I'm going out for a walk," said Brightheart, "I'll be back soon."

"Want me to come with you?" asked Cloudtail.

Brightheart glanced over at the nursery. She could feel Daisy's blue eyes watching them. "No. I think you are going to be busy here. Don't worry about me." She left camp with another word to Cloudtail. Daisy can have her way with him for now. Later she will regret ever messing with Brightheart.

She checked the position of the half moon overhead. Jayfeather had left for the Moonpool a little while before. She didn't know how long it would take for the medicine cats to do whatever they did but she hoped she would be able to get there in time before she left. Brightheart stopped near the border of ShadowClan and ThunderClan. The lake lapped in front of her.

_"Hey,"_ she whispered softly, _"You aren't awake right?"_

The silence that followed told her that Brightheart was asleep. Well that was good. Having her know about this would just cause an annoyance. Her yapping about how wrong this was got tiring after a while.

Her ears flicked as she heard the sound of approaching cats. The scent in the air told her it was ShadowClan and RiverClan.

"See you later then Willowshine. I'll bring you some goldenrod tomorrow," Brightheart heard Littlecloud say.

"Thank you," replied Willowshine, "Both of you take care."

"Of course!" said Flamepaw.

Brightheart heard Littlecloud and Flamepaw head for the ShadowClan territory while Willowshine came in her direction. Willowshine stopped when Brightheart came into view. "Brightheart? What are you doing here?"

"I'm coming with you," said Brightheart, "Leopardstar is expecting me."

Willowshine's whiskers twitched but she didn't say anything. That made Brightheart narrow her eyes. Did StarClan tell Willowshine something about Brightheart? No use worrying about that right now. She was going to hit WindClan hard. "Let's go then."

Willowshine nodded and began leading the way. They stayed within five tail-lengths from the lake. While they were walking, Brightheart wondered what StarClan told her to prevent her from asking why. _"I'm going to have to use Hollyleaf to get the information out of Jayfeather."_

The marshy land soon gave way to the land of RiverClan territory. Brightheart heard the sounds of the river and shivered. She didn't get why RiverClan cats liked to swim so much. They entered the camp and like before, the RiverClan in the camp watched her with distrust. They were probably wondering why she was back by her own free will.

Willowshine took her to Leopardstar's den and gestured for her to go inside. Brightheart obeyed and inside she saw Leopardstar. The spotted she-cat looked older than the last time she had seen her. Did this mean Leopardstar was on her last life? That was interesting. She was going to need to interfere more than she thought. She couldn't have Mistyfoot becoming leader. Mistyfoot wouldn't listen to Brightheart at all.

"What is it?" asked Leopardstar, "Did you find out more about the cat with the drooling sickness?"

Brightheart took a deep breath. This was a crucial moment. She needed to get this right, "Yes. I have found out more about the cat with the drooling illness. And I found out that Onestar is going to release the cat onto RiverClan territory."

"What?" whispered Leopardstar.

Brightheart nodded, "Yes. It seems Onestar cannot control this cat anymore and thinks the best way to deal with it is to let another clan deal with it."

"What should I do?" Leopardstar whispered. Brightheart inwardly twitched her whiskers. Leopardstar was so mousebrained. How she was chosen to become deputy, Brightheart would never know.

"I have a plan," Brightheart put in. "RiverClan will attack WindClan. Attack with a big group of cats." She put up her tail when she noticed Leopardstar was going to speak. "Don't worry. You won't lose. While the warriors are fighting RiverClan, you will send a warrior to ThunderClan. Say that WindClan has done something wrong and you are getting revenge but it is not going as planned. Make it as evil as you can think of. ThunderClan will jump in to help and the cat with the drooling illness will be destroyed."

"Who is the cat?" asked Leopardstar.

"You will know when you see the cat. If I see that the cat is dead then I will tell one of your cats. Which cat should I tell? Which one can you trust with this information?"

"Voletooth. You know who he is?"

Brightheart nodded, "I do. That's fine. Tell him the plan. Don't tell the others too much detail." She turned to leave but paused, "Make sure Mistyfoot leads the battle. You can stay in the camp." She left the den and said hello to the RiverClan cats who was watching her with suspicion. She noticed Mistyfoot watching her from the shadows in the camp but Brightheart wasn't too worried about her. Mistyfoot wouldn't be around much longer anyway. She slipped out of the camp and began the trek back to ThunderClan.


	31. Chapter 31 The Battle With WindClan

**Wow. I' m really nice! Since I know a lot of you want to find out what happens next I've actually decided to work on this chapter earlier than I normally would have. So here's the next chapter. –giggles like mad- This chapter was a lot of fun!(I'm weird like that). Note: I made Minnowpaw and Pebblepaw into warriors because they are actually older than Berrynose, Hazeltail and Mousewhisker. **

The next morning, Brightheart felt oddly tired. It felt like she walked all the way around the lake and back. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep but she wouldn't. That would make her look like an elder. She refused to let Firestar see her weak.

She left the den and bid hello to Whitewing and her kits who were resting under the morning sun. Brightheart walked over to the fresh-kill pile and picked up a vole. She settled down near the fresh-kill pile, next to Cloudtail.

"Help!"

Brightheart looked up from the vole. Next to her, Cloudtail got up and edged in front of her.

A dark gray she-cat and a mottled gray tom ran into the camp. From the scent of fish covering them, they were RiverClan. Immediately all the cats in camp got up and watched the cats warily. Whitewing retreated back into the nursery with her two kits while Ferncloud and Daisy stood outside it.

"What are RiverClan cats doing here?" murmured Brackenfur.

"Explain your business here," said Firestar, coming out of his den. It looked like he was back to normal but that probably was just an appearance that he put for the outsiders. Right behind him was Brambleclaw and Sandstorm.

"We need help," yowled the dark gray she-cat. Brightheart recognized her as Minnowclaw.

"Yes," said the mottled gray tom. Pebblewhisker, remembered Brightheart. They were brother and sister. "RiverClan has attacked WindClan camp because WindClan has threatened to take away a huge part of RiverClan territory."

"We…cannot defeat them alone," put in Minnowclaw, "Please. Can you help us?"

The clan cats around Brightheart began to murmur. Most were wondering what Firestar will do. Will they aid WindClan or RiverClan?

"Does Leopardstar know about you coming here?" asked Firestar.

The two young warriors nodded. "She told us to get you. She said you would help RiverClan keep its territory."

Firestar nodded, "So I shall." He jumped onto the High Ledge but didn't bother calling for a clan meeting since the whole clan was already paying attention. "Cats of ThunderClan! RiverClan needs our help in defending their territory. We will not let WindClan take the territory of other clans. There will always be four clans in the forest and we will not let one clan overrun another. I will be leading the group of ThunderClan cats myself."

_"Not a surprise there,"_ said the other Brightheart, _"He wants to ask Onestar about this."_

"Brambleclaw. You will stay here and take care of the camp. Foxclaw, Icewing, Brightheart, Lionblaze, Spiderleg, Thornclaw, Hollyleaf and Sorreltail. You will be coming with me."

"RiverClan owes you," whispered Minnowclaw.

Firestar jumped off the High Ledge and the group of cats chosen to fight streamed out of the camp and headed for WindClan.

"Good luck," whispered Cloudtail to Brightheart as she past by him on her way out.

"Right," said Brightheart before heading into the forest. She was in the middle of the group of ThunderClan cats. The RiverClan warriors were in front, leading the ThunderClan cats.

_"I'm so excited!"_ yowled the other Brightheart, _"This is going to be so much fun!"_

Brightheart felt something was wrong with the way the other her spoke. It sounded like she had known that this was going to happen. _"Did you do something to make this happen?"_

_"Why would I do something like that? I won't benefit from this in any way."_

Somehow Brightheart felt the other her was lying. There was a reason. Brightheart may not know it but there a reason. She needed to be careful.

The scent of the WindClan moorlands filled her senses as the trees broke away revealing open moorland. The cats traveled quickly over the moorland. They were not going to follow the five tail-length rule this time. The hills past by the cats quickly and soon Brightheart could hear the sounds of battle. The WindClan camp came into view, a hollow in the center of a hill.

"ThunderClan!" yowled Firestar, "Attack!"

The ThunderClan cats yowled and rushed into the battle. Before Brightheart could move the other her pushed Brightheart out of the way and took over the body.

_"What are you doing?"_ yelled Brightheart.

_"I'll take care of it. Don't worry about it!"_ Brightheart ran into the camp and looked around quickly. Around her cats were fighting. The sleek bodies of the RiverClan cats against the wiry WindClan ones. The cats from ThunderClan immediately began assisting the RiverClan cats in any way they could. Brightheart ignored all of this. It didn't matter to her. Where was her prey?

"How dare you join this battle! Not everything needs your help!"

Brightheart whirled around and ducked to avoid Leaftail's claws. "Get out of my way," hissed Brightheart, "You are not my prey." She slammed her paw against the dark tabby tom's head. While he was recovering from the attack, Brightheart ran past him. A flash of gray made her turn to see a gray tail entering a small den.

Brightheart dodged around fighting cats and entered the den. From the smell it was the medicine cat den.

"Brightheart has the drooling illness?"

Her ears perked at the voice. It was Mistyfoot. And Barkface was the other cat in the den. Perfect. "Hello. You are talking about me right?"

Mistyfoot whirled around. Her eyes widen. "Brightheart? What are you…" Her blue eyes narrowed, "You did this! You wanted this to happen!"

"Took you long enough," laughed Brightheart.

_"What did you do?" _cried Brightheart.

The other her just pushed Brightheart away to the back corners of the mind. "Now. To take care of you." She pushed off with her back legs and tackled Mistyfoot to the ground. Now on top of her, Brightheart ran her back claws along Mistyfoot's belly while her front claws ripped at Mistyfoot's face. The gray she-cat struggled under Brightheart. She tried to get her claws on Brightheart's neck but Brightheart avoided the blows. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Barkface slowly edging his way out of the den. She hissed at him and launched herself off Mistyfoot and landed on Barkface's back.

The old tom could barely release a yowl as Brightheart's weight snapped his weak old bones. She checked on Mistyfoot. The gray she-cat was rising to her paws slowly. It looked like her belly injuries were hurting her. In fact it looked like Mistyfoot was going to do. Hissing in happiness, Brightheart slammed her paw against Barkface's head, smashing it into the ground.

The tom was the oldest cat in the clans. However his time was at an end. Brightheart jumped off his body and approached Mistyfoot who lunged at Brightheart. She sidestepped Mistyfoot and slashed the gray cat across the back.

"Why Brightheart?" hissed Mistyfoot turning around to face her. Her legs were shaking from the lack of blood. It looked like Mistyfoot would not last much longer.

"I need RiverClan under my control," hissed Brightheart, "You would never let that happen. I need your position to be open."

"How could you do something like this?" yowled Mistyfoot walking towards Brightheart but she fell to the ground instead, breathing heavily.

"All for revenge on Firestar," replied Brightheart, standing over Mistyfoot, "RiverClan has a weak leader. I will make it have another one. They can be of use in the future." She decided that was enough talking. Mistyfoot would probably get the full explanation in StarClan. She walked over to Mistyfoot's belly and with a long deep swipe she took the gray she-cat's life.

"That was fun," she said looking down at the blood on her paws. That would be a problem. She walked over Barkface's dead body to the store of moss in the back. Like all medicine cats, the moss was filled with water. Squeezing it out, she cleaned her paws of the blood. After that she headed for the exit, stepping over the two dead bodies.

At the entrance she glanced back. She had killed an extra cat, but Barkface was old and already on his way to StarClan. She just helped out the process. Plus, WindClan had Kestralwing. Turning she left the den and was met with the battle outside.

She noticed Lionblaze nearby taking on four WindClan cats at once. Her eyes narrowed. She noticed no wounds on the young tom. What did that mean? How could that be possible? _"His power? Not getting hurt?"_

Her ears flicked and she turned to the left. Hollyleaf stood over a very familiar cat.

"Wait!" yowled Crowfeather as Hollyleaf lifted up a paw.

"What?" hissed Hollyleaf.

"Hollyleaf. I need to tell you something."

Brightheart's eyes widen. She would not lose her pawn. Before Crowfeather could reveal the secret to save his own life, Brightheart yelled, "Hollyleaf! Crowfeather is a traitor! He broke the warrior code. He had a relationship with a cat outside of his clan. He had a relationship with Leafpool! He doesn't deserve to be a part of a clan!" Brightheart laughed cruelly to herself as Hollyleaf looked at Crowfeather with rage.

"Hollyleaf," yowled Crowfeather, "Wait!"

Brightheart turned her head just as Hollyleaf dealt the final blow. It wasn't that she didn't want to see it. She had just seen Voletooth pass by. She ran over to the tom. "It has been done," she whispered in his ear, "The cat with the drooling sickness is dead. RiverClan should go home now….Tell Leopardstar that you are the new deputy."

Voletooth's eyes widen and he looked at Brightheart.

"The cat with the drooling sickness got her," said Brightheart sadly.

"I understand then," said Voletooth quietly. He disappeared into the mass of fighting cats.

"What is going on?" asked Hollyleaf stepping next to Brightheart. A quick glance back told her that Hollyleaf had taken out all of her anger out on Crowfeather. He was barely recognizable.

"Nothing to worry about," said Brightheart, "RiverClan informed me that they are pulling back. Go tell the other ThunderClan cats will you?"

Hollyleaf nodded and disappeared into the battle. Brightheart made her way through the battle as well. Only she was not going to tell ThunderClan cats to pull back. She was searching for a certain ThunderClan cat. She found him in the back of the camp with Onestar. Firestar.

The two toms were yelling at each other. Knowing this was not going the way she wanted it to, she turned and jumped into the battle. She found Weaselfur about to jump onto Foxclaw who was fighting another cat.

"Hey Weaselfur," hissed Brightheart, "Shouldn't you pick on somecat with the same strength as you."

Weaselfur turned to Brightheart and hissed angrily. Brightheart lifted her tail before he could attack, "You know your leader is danger right? Firestar is about to remove one of his lives right now."

"Weaselfur gasped and he was about to run when he asked, "Why should I believe you?"

Brightheart shrugged, "Oh well. Looks like you want your leader to loose some lives. Although you would not be able to take down Firestar by yourself. You are going to need a bunch of warriors on your side."

"I don't know what you are thinking but your leader is as good as dead," hissed Weaselfur disappearing into the fighting cats.

Brightheart twitched her tail smugly as she made her way through the fighting cats. Most were already in battle and ignored her but some actually attacked her. Those got their faces stuck in the dirt for she sidestepped all of them on her way to the camp exit.

"Retreat! RiverClan retreat!" Brighteart heard Voletooth yell. Immediately the RiverClan cats scattered, heading back for their own camp.

"ThunderClan! Retreat!" Brightheart heard somecat cry. Knowing it was time to go, she broke into a run and followed the group of cats leaving the camp. She noticed a bloody Firestar on Thornclaw's back. Sorreltail was on one side of Thornclaw, Spiderleg on the other. The two cats were supporting Firestar as Thornclaw ran. Brightheart lost them in the crowd of cats streaming out of the camp but it didn't matter much to her. She would find them again soon.

The trees thickened around Brightheart telling her she was finally on ThunderClan territory. She slowed to a stop and looked around. Nearby, Thornclaw gently removed Firestar from his back. Coming over, she saw the rest of the ThunderClan patrol was there as well.

"Firestar's dying," whispered Icewing.

Foxclaw licked his sister on the head, trying to comfort her.

Brightheart looked over Firestar's wounds. Claw marks covered his entire body, all bleeding.

"What happened?" asked Hollyleaf. None of them moved to get Jayfeather or get Firestar back to camp. They all knew he was dying and there was nothing Jayfeather could do to help.

"I saw the whole thing," said Sorreltail, "Onestar and Firestar were talking-yelling when suddenly a group of WindClan cats attacked him. Onestar ordered them to stop but by then it was too late."

Brightheart lowered her head along with the rest of the patrol. _"One life down and how many more to go? I will kill him nine times if I have to."_

After what seemed like an eternity, Firestar moved. He slowly got up and looked around the group of cats. His wounds had stopped bleeding and had closed up. "What happened?"

"We retreated," spoke up Thornclaw, "RiverClan retreated before us."

Firestar nodded, "Alright then. I don't know why those WindClan cats attacked me but there is nothing we can do about that now. We should get back to camp and get all of your wounds checked."

Brightheart looked around the group of cats. All of them but Lionblaze and herself had wounds of some sort. She understood why she didn't get any but Lionblaze. That was odd. Knowing she couldn't ask Hollyleaf about it now, she followed the patrol back to the camp.


	32. Chapter 32 Losing Herself

**Chapter 32!**

Brightheart woke with a start. What just happened? What about the battle? A quick look around told her she was in camp. But how did she get here? She noticed Jayfeather running around, taking care of injured cats. Hollyleaf was right behind him, helping however she could.

_"What does this mean?"_ asked Brightheart, _"Are we back from the battle? But I don't remember anything after…wait! What happened to Mistyfoot and Barkface?"_

"Brightheart! You're awake. Good. For a while there I thought you might not wake up. You were sleeping so deeply."

Brightheart looked up to see Cloudtail, "Cloudtail. Can I ask you something weird?" Without waiting for his answer she asked, "Cloudtail. Did we come back from the battle? What happened?"

Cloudtail blinked. "Well, you came back and it seems RiverClan retreated before ThunderClan did. Oh, and Firestar lost a life. Currently, everyone is resting in camp and some cats are out catching fresh-kill and such."

"He did?" Brightheart said when Cloudtail mentioned the lost life. She wondered if the other her was responsible. She hated not knowing. The other her was getting too strong. What if one day she would disappear? What would happen to her? Brightheart shivered. If the other her had full control then the clan would probably be doomed.

"Brightheart?" asked Cloudtail, dropping down so he could look at Brightheart from eye level. "You have been acting weird lately. Are you okay? Maybe Jayfeather should look at you."

Brightheart shook her head, "No. I'm fine Don't worry." She got to her paws. She did not know why but she looked at the nursery. Her eye locked onto Daisy's. The she-cat's blue eyes glared at Brightheart angrily. Brightheart blinked and tore her eye away hoping the other her did not see that. If she did then Daisy would die. She had to protect her clanmates.

_"Protect them from what?"_

Brightheart yelped. She waved Cloudtail's concern away with her tail. "I thought I saw a snake but it was just a vine."

Cloudtail still watched her with concern, "I think you really should see Jayfeather."

"I'm okay," repeated Brightheart, "Don't worry." Inside she said, _"From other clans. What if WindClan attacks the camp?"_

_"Then we just rip WindClan to shreds,"_ replied the other her calmly like she was talking about the weather. _"Oh. There's Hollyleaf."_

Brightheart felt control of her body slip away. She struggled to keep herself in control but she was easily flung away. The other Brightheart walked their body over to Hollyleaf who was putting a mixture of herbs on Sorreltail's wounds.

"I would like to talk to you when you are done," she said.

Hollyleaf nodded and quickly finished up taking care of Sorreltail. "Talk to Jayfeather about how long you need to keep it on," she instructed before following Brightheart into the forest. "I cannot be gone for long," said Hollyleaf, "Jayfeather needs help to take care of the injured cats."

"This won't take long," replied Brightheart stopping. She turned around and sat down on the forest floor. Hollyleaf, not knowing what to do did the same. "Hollyleaf. I need you to tell me something. Your brother. Lionblaze. His power. What is it? Is it that he can fight battles without getting hurt?"

Hollyleaf just nodded. "Yes. That is his power."

Brightheart nodded. That made sense but that was a problem. That meant she probably could not have Lionblaze be killed in a battle. She would have to think of a more creative way to take care of him. Noticing that Hollyleaf was beginning to fidget she asked, "What about you? What's your power?"

"I….I don't know…"

Brightheart sensed that Hollyleaf wasn't lying. The prophecy was three kin of your kin, referring to Firestar. That could mean….Whitewing's kits. One of them had to be the third if Hollyleaf wasn't. Or it could be one of Tawnypelt's kits as Brambleclaw was connected to Firestar through Squirrelflight. This would take some looking into.

"One more thing. I need you to ask Jayfeather something."

"What?"

"How many lives Firestar has."

Hollyleaf's green eyes widen. From her expression Brightheart knew she was trying to figure out if this would go against the warrior code. "I think we should know," said Brightheart, "If we do, then we can do a better job taking care of the clan. If he only has one life left then we need to protect him to make sure he doesn't lose it."

"You're right," said Hollyleaf, "We would be able to help Firestar."

"Great," purred Brightheart, "Go ask your brother but don't tell him the reason why. Remember to guard your thoughts. I think you know as well that Jayfeather can read what you are thinking."

Hollyleaf didn't seem surprised that Brightheart knew about Jayfeather's power. "Can I go now?"

"Sure," replied Brightheart.

Once Hollyleaf was gone Brightheart began thinking of what she had to do. Although the other her had tried to hide it she saw the expression on Daisy's face. Daisy. Even though she did not care for Cloudtail, how dare that she-cat think that she can get away with that. _"A plan is needed for this one,"_ she thought, _"That cat never leaves camp and since she is in the nursery she is never really alone."_ Her ears flicked and she scented a cat approaching. She quickly retreated, giving Brightheart her body back.

"Oh. Brightheart."

"Squirrelflight?" Brightheart looked around. She was in the forest? How did that happen?

"What's wrong?" asked Squirrelflight, "It looks like you have no idea where you are."

"Oh, I'm fine," said Brightheart quickly. She wondered what the other her talked to Hollyleaf about. She hated this. Now whenever the other took over she could not remember anything the other her did! "Squirrelflight?"

Brightheart noticed that Squirrelflight was looking at her with suspicion. Brightheart backed up a step. "Squirrelflight? What's wrong?"

"What were you talking to Hollyleaf about?"

Brightheart's body turned cold. Could Squirelflight have heard what they spoke of? "I don't know what you are talking about," said Brightheart.

"You're lying. I heard you two talk," hissed Squirrelflight, "Something about Firestar and his lives? Why would you want to know something like that? And your voice. It had…malice in it."

Brightheart backed up a step and shook her head, "No. I truly don't know anything." Brightheart knew she could not tell Squirrelflight the truth of why she didn't know. How was she supposed to explain the other her?

"Brightheart," Squirrelflight took a step towards her, "What is going on?"

Brightheart opened her mouth to speak but she never got her words out for the other her swiftly took over. "Easy," she sneered, "Why should you get to ask all the questions? I want to ask you some myself."

Squirrelflight blinked. Brightheart's voice had shifted from innocent to hatred. "What is going on?"

"There you go again! Asking another question! Well, let me ask you one. Why did you lie to the clan about the kits?"

Squirrelflight yowled in shock, "What? You…you know about them? How?"

"A pool with a leaf in it told me."

"Leafpool? But why? And when did she tell you?"

Brightheart shrugged, "I don't really know myself. I mean would you tell a secret about yourself to the cat who gave you the berries? Some cats are just odd like that I guess."

"The berries?" Squirrelflight's eyes widen, "No. It was you? You killed my…"

"Wow. Three cheers for Squirrelflight for figuring it out. You're so smart you know that?" The sneer never left Brightheart's face.

"Why?" hissed Squirrelflight, her claws unsheathed, her body shaking in anger, "Why did you kill my sister?"

"To make you feel better, I never meant to kill her. I was after Jayfeather." Brightheart shrugged again, "Oh well. It didn't really matter. That death was a part of my goal anyway."

"Goal? What goal? Tell me!"

"Sure. Why not? My goal is to make Firestar suffer before I take him out."

"You want to kill…."

Brightheart nodded, "Of course. Firestar deserves to die. He's destroying ThunderClan."

"Don't you dare talk about my father like that!" roared Squirrelflight launching herself at Brightheart.

Brightheart sidestepped out of the way. "You are going to need to be faster than that!" She took off into the forest. From the yowl and the sound of pawsteps behind her, she knew Squirrelflight was following. Good. This was unexpected but she was going to kill Squirreflight one day. She made sure Squirrelflight could still see her as they ran through the forest. It would be a pain if Squirrelflight gave up.

Brightheart slowed down to a stop when she reached the abandoned twolegged nest. She turned around and sat down and began to groom herself. "Took you long enough," she said calmly as Squirelflight came out of the forest. The she-cat was panting, probably from the fact that Brightheart had taken them around a couple of circles before coming here.

"I don't understand why you are doing this, but I will stop you as a member of ThunderClan!"

Brightheart got up and unsheathed her claws. "In case you forgot I am also a member of ThunderClan. But, unlike you I am a true member."

Squirrelflight yowled and launched herself at Brightheart again. This time Brightheart did not dodge right away but waited until Squirrelflight was almost upon her before moving forward and butting her head up, catching Squirrelflight in the stomach. She heard the air whoosh out of Squirrelflight's lungs. Brightheart threw Squirrelflight to the ground and ran her claws along Squirrelflight's tail. "I wonder how Firestar will react if I put only your tail outside his den?"

Squirrelflight yowled in rage and twisted around to face Brightheart again. She lashed out her front claws but Brightheart just backed up to avoid them. "You haven't been fighting in a while have you? Your skills are terrible. I wonder whose fault that is? Who does not let us fight battles?"

"Be quiet!" snarled Squirrelflight.

Brightheart stretched out her tail and felt the side of the twolegged nest. Clever. Squirrelflight was trying to corner her. From Squirreflight's expression it looked she knew that Brightheart knew.

Brightheart continued backing up until she was truly cornered. "Now what? Are you going to kill me? Or maim me some more and then take me back to the clan?" She felt something near her paw and she glanced down to see it was a piece of wood. From the shape she guessed it was from the nest but fell off as the nest rotted with age.

"I will stop you!" yowled Squirrelflight leaping into the air. Her claws reached out, ready to rip Brightheart's fur. Brightheart, who had dug her claws into the piece of wood, twisted her paw upwards, launching the piece of wood at Squirrelflight knocking the she-cat to the ground. From the strained yowl, it looked like Squirrelflight had landed wrong. Her left front paw, the only one seemed to giving her trouble.

"You in pain?" Brightheart looked around and her eyes fell on some bell shaped pink flowers growing near the nest. Her eyes widen and she laughed. "Looks like StarClan have decided to bless me after all!" She ran over to the plant and carefully removed some of the leaves and ran over to Squirrelflight. Before Squirrelflight could move, Brightheart shoved all of her weight against the she-cat's back.

Brightheart spit the leaves on the ground and with a paw she shoved them into Squirrelflight's mouth. The she-cat began to struggle and she tried to spit out the leaves but Brightheart used her front paws to shove Squirrelflight's face into the dirt. "Swallow," she hissed, "Or Brambleclaw will be next."

Brightheart felt Squirrelflight go ridged. She knew she had hit the right nerve. "I was never planning on killing him," she informed Squirrelflight, "He is a pure ThunderClanner. He belongs in the clan. Swallow or he is next on the list." She shifted her weight forward and placed one of her paws on Squirrelflight's throat so she could feel if Squirrelflight swallowed. "I will also not put your tail in front of Firestar's den. I will…I will leave the three alone. Leafpool would have wanted them to live."

Brightheart felt Squirrelflight's body move up and down. It looked like Squirrelflight was sobbing. She yowled in happiness as she felt Squirrelflight swallow. She jumped off and watched as the poison of the plant take control of Squirrelflight's body. She did not watch for long however. Instead she grabbed Squirrelflight by the scruff and began dragging her towards the twolegged nest. She needed Squirrelflight's body for now. The idea of putting Squirrelflight's tail on display was too much to resist. She wondered what Firestar would think of that!

Once the body was inside the nest, the poison had run through Squirrelflight's body. "You will not win," rasped Squirrelflight, "They will find out."

Brightheart shrugged, "They will find out after I'm done with Firestar. Then I don't care anymore. Say hello to your sister for me." She just thought of something. "That's really funny! Both sisters died of poison!" She laughed and that was the last thing Squirrelflight saw before the poison finished her.

**Well, Brightheart's death count has risen to 6! And if anyone is wondering, the plant Brightheart used was foxglove.**


	33. Chapter 33 Evil Plans

**It's chapter 33!**

Brightheart left the twolegged nest and checked the sky. Dark clouds were beginning to gather overhead and she could faintly hear thunder in the distance. Good. She would not have to worry about erasing the scent. She was happy about that. She wasn't even sure she could remember all the places they had been, zigzagging everywhere.

Before she headed back to the camp she plucked the leftover foxglove and put it in a dry spot in the twolegged nest. She might need to use foxglove again in the future and she couldn't risk Jayfeather finding the plant and destroying it. Before Brightheart left she looked back at Squirrelflight's still body. She really wanted to rip off the she-cat's bushy tail right there and place it outside Firestar's den but that would take too much time. Something she didn't have right now.

She left the body and the nest alone and headed back to camp. On her way back the rain from the clouds were released, her fur immediately plastered to her sides. She didn't mind however. The rain was a blessing. It would remove her scent from the scene. She lifted her head and let the rain hit her face. "Hey StarClan!" she cried, "Is this a present for me? You are really kind, you know that?"

With that done she picked up her speed and ran as fast as she could, almost slipping in mud a couple of times on the way. She entered the camp just as the rain started to pour harder. The rains slammed against her fur like little claws. Lighting flashed and thunder crackled. She ran over to the warriors den and huddled inside with the rest of the cats. It looked like everyone was going to stay in for the rest of the night.

"Thank StarClan you're back," said Cloudtail as she settled down next to him.

Brightheart's whiskers twitched, "The rain came faster than I thought it would. It scared the mouse I was chasing back into its den."

"That is always annoying," said Brackenfur who had overheard Brightheart's remark. "I remember one time, I was chasing this rabbit when a raindrop fell from a leaf and the rabbit bolted." He sighed. "It was a huge one too."

Brightheart nodded before placing her head on her paws, closed her eye and slowed down her breathing. She did it so Cloudtail would leave her alone. She needed time to think about the next step.

One of the things Brightheart knew would be a problem was ShadowClan. She already had RiverClan in her grasp and Onestar feared her. She didn't really have anycat in ShadowClan that she could trust in. Whitewater may share a kinship with her but that did not mean she would betray her clan. Tawneypelt was the same way. She wondered if she should launch an attack on ShadowClan. Of course thinking of an excuse to have RiverClan attack will be hard. As well as the fact that she didn't know anyone in ShadowClan weak enough to listen to a ThunderClan cat. She sighed. This was one those times where she wished she was in another clan. ThunderClan's reputation was a pain sometimes.

She moved her thoughts to her other problems. ShadowClan would be left alone for now. Squirrelflight's body. She wondered how long it would take for her to remove Squirrelflight's tail. Would she be able to do it quickly to avoid suspicion? An idea entered her brain. She tried not to laugh out loud. It was a good idea…in case Hollyleaf decided to go against her.

With that thing taken care of she turned to her more current problem. Daisy. That she-cat thinks she can do anything she wants even though she is just a lazy kittypet. The only thing she was good for are kits but most of the toms near her age already had mates. Well except for Thornclaw, but she had to admit that he was an odd tom. _"Now. How to take care of Daisy? Killing her is the best solution but how to do it?" _Unlike the other cats Daisy always stayed in camp and she was usually surrounded by cats or clinging onto toms.

"Has anycat seen Squirrelflight?"

Brightheart cracked open an eye. Brambleclaw was standing up and scanning the cats in the warriors den. Meows of no echoed from the cats in the den.

"Maybe she got caught in the storm outside and took shelter somewhere," suggested Graystripe.

Millie snuggled closer to her mate, like the thought of being outside made her cold. "I hope Briarpaw and Blossompaw are alright in the apprentice den."

"They are okay," purred Graystripe, licking her on the head. "Toadpaw and Rosepaw will help keep them warm."

Birchfall got up. "I'm going to the nursery. I… want to make sure my kits are warm."

"I'll go with you," said Dustpelt getting up. "I should be near Ferncloud."

Brightheart struggled to keep herself from tackling Dustpelt to the ground. Maybe Ferncloud should go on the list as well? No. Not yet. Let Dustpelt be happy for now.

"I wonder if Toadpaw and Rosepaw are okay…" said Spiderleg softly. Brightheart wasn't even sure she heard it.

"They're fine," said Icewing, who was next to her brother, "The apprentice den is quite warm."

Toadpaw. Brightheart also yowled with joy. That was it! That was what she could use to get Daisy! She carefully lifted her head and saw that Cloudtail was fast asleep next to her. How convenient was that?

Brightheart slowly got up so she wouldn't disturb him and headed for Hollyleaf who was sleeping next to her brother. She settled down next to the she-cat, happy that Hollyleaf was near the outside of the circle of cats. It meant that less cats would hear their conversation.

"Hollyleaf?" whispered Brightheart, "You awake?"

"Yes?" asked Hollyleaf softly so her brother wouldn't wake up.

"I need you to take Toadpaw on a walk tomorrow. Make it during sunhigh. Keep him busy."

"What are you going to do?" asked Hollyleaf, her eyes on the warriors around them. She was acting like they were not having a conversation. Brightheart was impressed. "And what about Birchfall?"

"Take Birchfall with you," replied Brightheart, "Try to keep them busy the best you can." Her head was on her paws and if a cat wasn't looking close enough, it looked like she was asleep.

"What are you going to do?"

"I…I'm going to take care of unwanted pests. Don't worry about it," said Brightheart, feeling Hollyleaf's eyes bore into her. "The less you know about this one the better. Now go to sleep. You are going to need your energy tomorrow."


	34. Chapter 34 Speaking with Daisy

**Chapter 34! Yay!**

The next morning, Brightheart was enjoying a vole when Sandstorm walked over to her. "I need to talk to you," she said, "Not here though. Meet me at the dirtplace."

Brightheart blinked in confusion but nodded. Sandstorm sighed in relief and headed for the dirtplace. Brightheart got up and followed her. She didn't know what had happened the previous day. Where was Squirrelflight? Did the other her do something to her?

She silently cursed herself over and over. Why couldn't she be stronger? Why couldn't she fight her other self? Somehow she had a suspicion that deep down she did not want to stop the other her. She hated feeling like that.

Once she crawled into the dirtplace, Sandstorm began speaking. "I'm worried. I think the same cat who killed Leafpool got Squirrelflight as well."

"Huh?"

Sandstorm shook her head, "Listen. I think you noticed that Squirrelflight did not come back to camp last night. It made sense that if she was caught outside the camp she would make a shelter somewhere and stay until the rain let up. However, she did not come back this morning. Cloudtail and Brambleclaw are out looking for her but I think that…"

Brightheart's legs shook in horror. It could not be! The other her had killed Squirrelflight! She wondered where the body was. Why did the other her hide the body when she usually likes to show off her killings?

"I know this is a big favor to ask but can you help me?"

"Help with that?" asked Brightheart, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Help me find out who did it," said Sandstorm, "You have one the sharpest ears in the clan! You can listen in on conversations! Maybe the cat will slip and we will know who did it."

"Why don't you ask Jayfeather?" asked Brightheart, trying to draw attention away from herself. She could not help Sandstorm find the killer because she was the killer!

Sandstorm shook her head, "I can't. Squirrelflight was his mother. Asking him to do this would be cruel to him."

Brightheart had the urge to scream and tell Sandstorm the truth. Jayfeather's mother was Leafpool not Squirrelflight.

"Please help," begged Sandstorm, "I don't want any more cats to suffer."

"I'll try," said Brightheart weakly.

"Thank you," whispered Sandstorm, "That's all I ask." The pale ginger she-cat left the dirtplace, leaving Brightheart alone with her thoughts. She left a little bit after Sandstorm and decided to go out hunting. Maybe it would help take her mind off things.

Before she left however, Hollyleaf came up to her, Toadpaw at her heels. "Birchfall says I can train him today," she explained, "He wants to stay behind with his kits since Swiftkit has been coughing in the night."

Brightheart didn't understand why Hollyleaf was telling her this. Why did this matter? Suddenly she felt the other her's presence and felt the control of her body slip away.

"Good," said the other Brightheart, now in control. "Go and have a good training lesson. Maybe make it near the WindClan border?"

"Sure," said Hollyleaf before leading Toadpaw out. When they were gone, Brightheart headed for the rocks at the back of the camp. Daisy was lying on one, enjoying the sun. Brightheart jumped on the one next to hers and settled down on the warm stone. For the moment, Daisy was alone.

"What do you want?" asked Daisy, watching Brightheart out of one eye.

"Enjoying the sun," replied Brightheart, "I can do whatever I want to remember? Plus I am a senior warrior after all." Knowing she wouldn't have much time, she jumped right into her plan. "Daisy. I want you to come with me. I need to show you something in the forest."

"What are you talking about?" asked Daisy, the repulsion clear on her face. It looked like she thought leaving camp was like entering a fox's den!

"I mean, you must come. In case you didn't know, Toadpaw isn't here right now."

Daisy's eyes widen, "What?"

"I think he is out training….with a friend of mine." She lifted up a paw and unsheathed her claws.

Daisy released a small yowl, "You wouldn't."

Brightheart shrugged and noticed the elders were coming towards the rocks. She needed to finish up quickly. "I would. I want you to leave camp. I'll be waiting outside and I will take you somewhere. Listen to me and Toadpaw will not be harmed."

"Why should I believe you," hissed Daisy, "No cat will do this!"

"A cat obsessed with the warrior code might," said Brightheart lightly, "Toadpaw has only half of ThunderClan blood flowing through him. She does not like that."

"You wouldn't," whispered Daisy.

Brightheart jumped off the rocks. Mousefur and Longtail were almost upon them. "I would. Come out of camp and don't tell anyone about this if you want Toadpaw to live." She walked away, saying hello to the elders as she passed.

Outside the camp she walked over to a small patch of smelly flowers and rolled all over them. Since the ground was muddy there, the mud caked onto her fur as well. She just loved newleaf. There were many ways to hide her scent!

While waiting for Daisy she scented the air and tried to figure out the safest way to get to the ShadowClan border without meeting anyone. She however, smelled a mouse nearby instead. Dropping into a hunter's crouch she approached the mouse slowly and at the right moment, pounced and killed it with a swift bite to the neck.

"Here's my excuse," she murmured, burying the mouse to pick up later.

"I'm here. What do you want?"

Brightheart turned to face Daisy. The she-cat seemed out of place in the forest. She ignored the urge to laugh. "Follow me," she said, "And keep up."

Brightheart began walking through the forest with Daisy almost at her tail. They had to change direction every now and then to avoid meeting up with a patrol. They finally made it to the ShadowClan border as the sun was high in the sky.

"What is it?" asked Daisy, panting. Her cream colored fur was covered in dirt and twigs.

Brightheart ignored the question and scented the air. From the scent, Brightheart could tell that ShadowClan cats were here recently to remark the border and was now gone. Good. That meant they would not be back for a while.

"Brightheart! What do you want?" snarled Daisy.

Brightheart turned to face her. "Daisy. Let me make this clear. I hate you."

Daisy backed up, surprised by the venom in Brightheart's voice.

"You are a lazy she-cat who doesn't do anything to help the clan," said Brightheart, "All you do is sit in the nursery all day, sleep and eat and grow fat. You yell at us warriors about not defending the clan if we are attacked but you do nothing yourself."

"What about Ferncloud?" hissed Daisy.

"She is still a warrior," reminded Brightheart, "Even thought she lives in the nursery, she knows battle moves and can hunt if necessary. You on the other paw learned nothing and expect us to obey you. And what about Cloudtail? You love him and try to take him away from me. I think you never truly loved Spiderleg at all did you? You just used him to make Cloudtail jealous."

"Stop lying!" yowled Daisy, "I care about Spiderleg! He just wasn't a good father to my kits."

Brightheart shrugged, "So? I don't even know who my father was and you don't see me complaining about that. Plus all toms are different. If you really loved him, you would have accepted that. No. You tried to make Spiderleg into Cloudtail."

"Stop it," hissed Daisy.

"Whose next?" pushed Brightheart, "Thornclaw? Or one of the other toms that already have a mate?"

"Stop it!" yowled Daisy backing up a step again. She shook her head as if trying to get Brightheart's words away from her.

"Sorry," hissed Brightheart approaching her. "But I cannot let you live." She reared on her back legs and brought her claws down on Daisy's head, her teeth clamped on Daisy's shoulder.

Daisy yowled in pain and struggled to get Brightheart off. She unsheathed her claws and swiped at Brightheart, landing a blow on Brightheart's side. Brightheart yowled in anger more than pain. She released Daisy and jumped back a step. When her back paws touched the ground and pushed forward and butted Daisy hard with her head.

Daisy slammed against a tree and yowled in pain. Before she could move, Brightheart shoved her claws into Daisy's neck. Daisy froze and stared at Brightheart in shock.

"Have fun in StarClan or wherever cats like you go," she hissed before pulling her claws out. Blood began soaking the forest floor as Daisy fell, her blank blue eyes staring up at Brightheart.

"Stop looking at me like that," she said to the body before grabbing it by the scruff and dragging it over the ShadowClan border. Once the body was fully on the ShadowClan side, she headed for the stream and washed all the mud off her. She wondered how Firestar would react to this. Maybe it would cause an attack on ShadowClan? That would be fun.

She looked down at the long scratch mark across her side. How to explain that? It didn't hurt much but it would cause suspicion if she didn't have a reason. Noticing a prickly bush nearby she got up, shut her one good eye and ran through it, making sure her fur was cut up. Once she was out on the other side, her fur looked like a bloody mess. A perfect way to hide the wound.

Brightheart licked as much blood away as she could before retrieving her mouse and returning to camp.


	35. Chapter 35 RiverClan's Admiration

**Chapter 35! And remember this! Brightheart(as well as pretty much all of the other cats) don't know much about the drooling sickness, which is rabies in case you didn't know. **

When Brightheart entered the camp, Sorreltail, who was about to leave yowled in shock. "What happened to you?" she asked.

Brightheart put the mouse down. "I wasn't paying attention. There was a prickly bush on my blind side…" She lowered her head and looked to the side to make it seem like she was really embarrassed about what happened.

"Oh…" said Sorreltail. "You should get those wounds checked by Jayfeather."

"I should," agreed Brightheart, picking up her mouse. She dropped it on top of the fresh-kill pile before heading for Jayfeather's den. Before she entered she released her grip, letting Brightheart take over.

"What?" Brightheart blinked and looked around. She was in camp but the sun was higher than she remembered it was. Did that mean the other her did something again? She noticed the scratch marks over her fur and almost yowled loudly in shock. Where did those come from?

"Brightheart. What are you…" Jayfeather, who had just come out, stopped in mid sentence. "What happened? I smell blood on you."

_"You fell in a prickly bush,"_ said the other Brightheart.

"I fell in a bush," repeated Brightheart.

Jayfeather stared at her with his cloudy eyes for what Brightheart felt was a long time before turning to return to his den. "Come inside."

Brightheart obeyed. Once she was inside she shivered, remembering the place where Leafpool died. She was the one who did it and Leafpool had entrusted her deepest secret to her. She wondered if she should tell Jayfeather. Or, did he know already? Maybe somecat from StarClan already told him.

"Stand still," said Jayfeather, coming over with a mixture of some sort. Brightheart guessed marigold, chervil and some other plants. "Those cuts don't look deep but I don't want them to get infected," said Jayfeather before applying the mixture onto her wounds.

While he was busy doing this, Brightheart was in her own little world. She wondered why the other her was being so quiet right now. Maybe it was this power that the other her said Jayfeather had. The power to read minds or something like that. She hoped the other her was busy keeping Jayfeather out and not thinking of another scheme.

"I'm done. These wounds should not keep you from your duties but be careful," warned Jayfeather.

Brightheart thanked Jayfeather before leaving. Outside, she noticed that many ThunderClan cats were gathered under the HighLedge. Firestar was making his way up to it.

Brightheart walked over and sat down next to Poppyfrost and asked her what was going on.

"You are not going to believe this," said Poppyfrost, "But Daisy's body has been found on the border with ShadowClan! " She gestured with her tail to the still body near the center of the camp. "Mousewhisker, Thornclaw and I were going on a border patrol when we saw Daisy on the other side of the border! When we took Daisy back, a bunch of ShadowClan warriors came and they were hissing at us and asking what we were doing. Mousewhisker got really upset and he asked why they killed his mother but they denied it, saying they had no idea who she was. They let us take Daisy's body after a lot of taunting… Spiderleg is demanding that we attack ShadowClan!"

Brightheart's eyes widen. Could this be what had happened to her? This must have been what the other her had did!

"Cats of ThunderClan!" yowled Firestar, "We have suffered a great loss. One of the beloved members of our clan has been killed by, what looks like ShadowClan."

"We should attack them!" yowled Spiderleg, "Attack their camp and take out one of their queens!"

Firestar lifted up his tail and Spiderleg fell silent. "Spiderleg. I understand where you are coming from but we cannot act rashly about this. WindClan sees us as an enemy right now. Attacking ShadowClan will bring both clans against us."

"So what are we supposed to do?" yowled Thornclaw, "Let them trample all over us?"

Firestar shook his head, "I have talked it over with Brambleclaw and we have decided to ask RiverClan for an alliance for the time being."

Yowls of protest rang up. Brightheart wasn't one to protest. She was in shock. Could this be the other her's plan? She knew the other her had RiverClan in her paws.

Firestar lifted his tail and the ThunderClan cats fell silent. "ThunderClan may be able to have a war with WindClan but we cannot fight against two clans without help. We will ask RiverClan to help us before RiverClan is turned against us."

"How are we supposed to talk to the RiverClan cats about this?" spoke up Dustpelt. "Because I don't think WindClan or ShadowClan will let us cross the borders to visit RiverClan even with the lake rule in place."

"Jayfeather," said Firestar, "Will you cross the border and ask RiverClan for us? Brightheart can go with you." He noticed the wounds on Brightheart's fur but she shook his concern away with a nod.

"I will," said Jayfeather, "I will go right now. Brightheart?"

"That's fine by me," said Brightheart, not believing the words coming out of her mouth. She was going to go to RiverClan again!

_"I can't believe this,"_ hissed the other her, _"He is only sending Jayfeather and us because we are the least meancing cats in the clan! I think he would have made Longtail go too if he wasn't so old."_

"We will decide what to do next after Jayfeather and Brightheart return with the answer from RiverClan," Firestar jumped off the High Ledge, ending the meeting.

Cats that were close to Daisy walked over to her body and sat down next to it. Brightheart felt a lump rise in her throat as Cloudtail joined the mourning cats.

"Let's go Brightheart."

"Right," said Brightheart tearing her eye away from the scene.

Jayfeather and Brightheart left camp and began heading down to the lake. They were going to stick close to it on the whole trip. Better safe than sorry when dealing with ShadowClan.

Brightheart hated the silence that followed them. She was about to warn Jayfeather on some occasions about trees in the way but he veered around them without her help.

"Do…" began Brightheart. She sighed, "Do you know if Bumblepaw is happy in StarClan?"

Jayfeather hesitated. "He's doing alright. He has his eye back that he lost." He fell silent like there was something secret about Bumblepaw.

Brightheart wondered if her face would be fixed in StarClan. She wondered if she would actually go to StarClan. Did she deserve to go to a happy place after all she did?

"Can you wait here?"

Brightheart blinked and looked around. They were by the lake. Jayfeather was near the base of a tree, pulling out what seemed to be a stick with claw marks in it.

_"What is that?"_

_"It looks like a stick,"_ replied Brightheart.

After Jayfeather did whatever he did with the stick, he put it back in the base of the tree and told Brightheart they should get going.

_"Let's check that stick out later,"_ said the other Brightheart.

Brightheart tried to remove the spot with the stick away from her mind as they passed into ShadowClan territory. She tried not to glance into the pine trees to look for eyes. However even if she didn't look she could feel them. Eyes watching her. She checked on Jayfeather and saw he was tense. He knew about them as well. He probably knew about them before she did.

Brightheart was surprised that the other her didn't make a comment about killing the cats that were watching them. Usually she would boast that this cat or that cat was next on her killing list.

"RiverClan," said Jayfeather quietly as they crossed over the border.

The two headed towards the camp and Brightheart had a strange feeling that she walked this same way many times before. Was this something the other her had done?

On the way, they met up with a patrol of Reedwhisker, Beechfur and Mosspelt. Brightheart noticed that Reedwhisker's fur was unclean and his eyes were dull. She wondered what happened. Did somecat die?

"What are you two doing here?" hissed Beechfur.

"We are here to see Leopardstar," said Brightheart, knowing as a senior warrior, she should be the one to speak. "It is…important."

Brightheart noticed an immediate reaction. The cats relaxed and they seemed to be happy to have the ThunderClan cats on their territory. Even Reedwhisker seemed to perk up. She wondered what this was about.

"Follow us," said Mosspelt.

Brightheart walked in front of Jayfeather while the three RiverClan cats led them. She would warn Jayfeather of anything that might make him trip while they walked. Once they were inside the camp, Brightheart noticed that many RiverClan cats were watching them with admiration rather than mistrust.

"What is going on here?" murmured Jayfeather, "Why are they letting us in so easily…"

Voletooth came out of Leopardstar's den and approached the two ThunderClan cats. "Brightheart. Leopardstar is here to see you now. Jayfeather. Did you come to see Willowshine?"

Jayfeather nodded, "I need to talk to her about something."

_"What the? I knew it. StarClan is planning something!"_

"Alright then. Mothwing's den is to your left. Follow me Brightheart." Brightheart didn't know what was going on but she followed Voletooth into Leopardstar's den.

"Brightheart," said Leopardstar, getting to her paws. Her amber eyes glistened with admiration. "I can't believe it. You saved RiverClan. I wanted to thank you before but I didn't know how to."

"I agree," said Voletooth.

Brightheart was about to protest but the other her swiftly took over. "It's not a problem. That cat would have been dangerous to leave alive anyway."

"Who was the cat?" asked Voletooth, "You can tell us right?"

She nodded, "Of course. It was Crowfeather." She shook her head sadly, "From what I overheard it seemed like Crowfeather was bitten by a dog when he ran away with Leafpool all those moons ago. You heard about the incident right?"

"Of course we did," said Voletooth. He shook his head, "I can't believe a medicine cat would do that."

Brightheart bit her tongue to prevent herself from spitting out that their medicine cat didn't even believe in StarClan. "Anyway," she began, "The real reason I came here is because Firestar sent me." She held up her tail, noticing the alarm on the two cats' faces. "Don't worry. He just wants ThunderClan and RiverClan to have an alliance for the time being."

"Do you think it is a good idea?" asked Leopardstar.

Brightheart nodded, "Of course. WindClan and ShadowClan are obviously already allianced. It would be best if RiverClan and ThunderClan had an alliance instead of fighting them both alone."

"Alright," said Leopardstar, "Let it be done."

"Great," said Brightheart. "And I have a question. Why does everycat out there seemed to watch me in admiration?"

Voletooth and Leopardstar exchanged glances. "I hope you will not be against it, but we told the rest of the clan about what happened," said Voletooth, "About the drooling sickness and how you saved RiverClan. You avenged Mistyfoot's death and for that we are grateful to you."

Brightheart purred in happiness. What luck! RiverClan trusted her! Well, not everycat trusted her. She knew that. She remembered the Mudclaw incident that involved cats of RiverClan. She would have to figure out who in RiverClan was against her and take care of them.

"Why don't you join RiverClan?" offered Voletooth, "I think you would make a great deputy. Many in the clan already trust after you saved us."

Brightheart shook her head, "I can't." She looked down and tried to look sad. "Firestar…hasn't given me an apprentice yet."

She heard the gasps come from the two cats and she laughed inside. Brightheart lifted her head, "Don't worry about me. I can help you out a lot more if I am in ThunderClan."

"Thank you Brightheart," said Leopardstar. "I really wish you were born a RiverClan cat."

"Me too," purred Brightheart, getting to her paws. "I should get back. Don't want Firestar to worry where I am."


	36. Chapter 36 Another Dream with StarClan

**Chapter 36. –Cries in a corner- I'm sorry Bumblepaw! Evil Brightheart made me do it!**

Brightheart and Jayfeather returned to ThunderClan without much trouble. Surprisingly ShadowClan didn't appear and attack the two cats even though both Brighthearts suspected it would happen.

The moon was rising higher as the two cats silently made their way into ThunderClan territory. When they made it into the camp, they were immediately surrounded by ThunderClan cats, all asking what had happened with RiverClan.

Firestar, who had been eating fresh-kill at the time, left the half-eaten vole and went to the High Ledge. "Let all cats who can catch their own prey gather here under the High Ledge." He waited until the cats that were inside the many dens came out and gathered under the rock.

Brightheart didn't know how it happened but she ended up at the front of the group of cats. The place that kits were turned into apprentices and apprentices into warriors. She was shocked. This was the first time she stood before everycat like this. Sure she stood in front of everycat in the old forest, but that was the old forest and this was the lake. This was different.

"Brightheart," announced Firestar, "Tell us what RiverClan's decision was."

Brightheart gulped and searched the ThunderClan warriors for Cloudtail. However her eye settled on Dustpelt and she felt courage fill her as she looked into his amber eyes. She silently cursed herself, hating the fact that the other her's feelings would affect her.

"Well Brightheart?"

"Uh, right." She found Cloudtail's blue eyes and felt relief. "RiverClan has decided to form an alliance with ThunderClan for now."

"Did Leopardstar ask for anything in return?" asked Brambleclaw.

"No. She didn't."

"What are we waiting for?" yowled Spiderleg, "Let's go and attack ShadowClan now!"

"Don't be hasty Spiderleg," snapped Dustpelt, his tail around Ferncloud's shoulders. "We haven't even discussed a plan with RiverClan yet."

Spiderleg was about to snarl back at Dustpelt but he held back.

"I want to attack them too," said Hazeltail, placing her tail on Spiderleg's paw, "But I know that it wouldn't be a wise choice."

Spderleg glared at Hazeltail like she was a fox. The black and white she-cat pulled back her tail in fear. Spiderleg's gaze softened and he said sorry to her.

"Let's discuss this tomorrow," said Firestar, "Maybe StarClan will send a dream to Jayfeather about this."

The cats scattered, all retiring to their nests. While cats passed Brightheart they all thanked her for convincing RiverClan to have an alliance. Brightheart just nodded. Personally, she could not remember what happened with Leopardstar and Voletooth. After they left the RiverClan camp, the other Brightheart had told her that RiverClan agreed to an alliance and they didn't want anything in return.

Brightheart entered the warriors den and headed over to her nest. She settled her head on her paws and let sleep overtake her.

A Dream

_"Where am I?"_ wondered Brightheart. She looked around and figured she was in a forest clearing. Above her, the stars were shining brighter than she ever saw them. With a jolt it hit her. This was StarClan! Why was she here? Where was the other her? Did she die somehow?

"Brightheart."

Brightheart's heart stopped. That voice. It was familiar. A voice she thought she would never hear again when she was alive. She whirled around. "B…Bumblepaw."

The tom looked nothing like Brightheart's last image of him. His fur was clean and he seemed full of life. His amber eyes sparkled. It was like the lost eye never happened.

"Bumblepaw," repeated Brightheart, walking towards him. She wanted to touch him to make sure he was really there. The look in Bumblepaw's eyes stopped her. He seemed sad. "Bumblepaw? What's wrong?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"Why are you trying to destroy ThunderClan?"

The accusation slammed against Brightheart's heart. "No…" she whispered, "Bumblepaw. I didn't-"

"Brightheart. Do you really want to tear ThunderClan apart? Would doing this help you in any way?"

Brightheart took a step towards Bumblepaw. "No! It's not like that!"

"Stop lying Brightheart! Spottedleaf still hasn't recovered from the attacks you put on her."

Brightheart felt like yowling in pain. How could Bumblepaw say such horrible things? But, she knew he was right. She should have fought against the other her more. She should have stopped the other her from getting control of RiverClan. She should have stopped the other her from killing all those innocent cats.

"Bumblepaw…I'll try harder. I'll stop her."

"What are you talking about?" Confusion flashed across Bumblepaw's face but it was replaced by the same sad look.

"She's talking about me."

The two cats turned to the voice. The other Brightheart entered the clearing. Anger was radiating off her. Her eye was set on Bumblepaw.

"Two Brighthearts?"

"StarClan sent you to make Brightheart feel bad right?" snarled the other Brightheart, still walking towards Bumblepaw. "Well StarClan should just mind their own business don't you think? I thought I made that clear with Spottedleaf."

"Wait. You..."

Brightheart sprung into action, jumping between Bumblepaw and the other her. "Run Bumblepaw!" she yowled. "I'll try to hold her off. Get out of here." Brightheart knew she had to protect Bumblepaw. She still remembered how viciously Spottedleaf was attacked. She would not let that happen to Bumblepaw.

The other Brightheart didn't stop. "Brightheart. Get out of my way."

"No!" yowled Brightheart, "Bumblepaw is my apprentice. Even if he is in StarClan I will still think of him as my apprentice. I won't let you hurt him."

"You forgot one very important thing," the other Brightheart stopped in front of Brightheart. "I am you." She lifted a paw and smacked it against Brightheart's head, throwing her to the ground.

Brightheart rushed to get up but the other Brightheart was already before Bumblepaw. Brightheart yowled for him to run but it was too late. The other Brightheart smashed her paw against Bumblepaw's head.

"Bumblepaw!" screamed Brightheart getting to her paws.

The other Brightheart turned to her, "Stay there."

Brightheart's legs locked into place. She couldn't move! Her voice still worked though. She wailed for Bumblepaw.

The other Brightheart kept her paw on Bumblepaw's head, pinning him down. He struggled furiously but she just increased the pressure until he stopped. "So now you know," she hissed, running her claws along Bumblepaw's spine. The tom stopped squirming. "Hmmm. What would be the best way to take care of you?"

"Leave him alone!" wailed Brightheart. She yelled at her paws but they refused to move.

The other Brightheart's ears flicked and she looked up, into the forest. "Help is coming for you. Guess I can't have fun after all." She pulled back her left front paw and then shot it forward, the claws slashing Bumblepaw's belly. His eyes widen and he began struggling but the other Brightheart just pushed her paw in deeper and deeper.

"Bumblepaw!" screamed Brightheart.

The other Brightheart turned to Brightheart, "Wake up!"

End Dream

Brightheart's eye shot open and she sucked in deep breaths of air. Next to her, Cloudtail stirred but didn't wake up. Her thoughts went to her dream. Bumblepaw. _"I couldn't stop her. I couldn't do anything for Bumblepaw."_ She shut her eye and forced the sobs that were rising down. She couldn't wake up the other warriors. _"I have to stop this. I need to stop her before anymore cats are killed."_

She placed her head back on her paws but whenever she closed her eye, she could see Bumblepaw with the other Brightheart's claws in him.


	37. Chapter 37 The Loss of a Pawn

**Chapter 37. The poll has been closed and the winner is all kin of Firestar with Cloudtail in a close second and all non-clanners and Firestar tied for third place. Thanks for voting!**

The next morning Brightheart was eating a vole, thinking of how to destroy the other her when Hollyleaf came over with a piece of prey and settled down next to her. Brightheart did not even realize that the other her had taken over. "So?" she asked, continuing to eat the vole.

"I asked Jayfeather and he told me that Firestar had two lives left," replied Hollyleaf, eating the thrush she got from the pile.

Brightheart nodded, trying to keep the giddiness out of her voice. Two lives! That was less than she thought! She needed to figure out how to remove one of Firestar's lives. The last one she will remove herself. She wanted to see him struggle and plead for death. "Did Jayfeather tell you anything else? About...StarClan?"

Hollyleaf shook her head. "No. All I was able to get out of him was Firestar's lives."

"That's fine," said Brightheart, noticing Sandstorm returning with a patrol. Probably a find Squirrelflight patrol. Brightheart knew it was time to pull that out. It was amazing that Squirrelflight's body had not been found yet but it was only a matter of time. She was upset that she would lose a pawn but that could not be helped. "Hollyleaf," began Brightheart, her eyes still on Sandstorm, "Meet me at the abandoned twoleg nest a little before sunhigh."

"Why?"

Brightheart didn't answer. She got up and walked over to Sandstorm. Sandstorm's eyes filled with warmth as Brightheart came over. Sandstorm walked over and met her halfway. "What is it? Did you find something out?"

Brightheart looked around cautiously, like she was checking for enemies. "Meet me at the abandoned twolegged place at sunhigh. Bring some warriors with you."

Sandstorm looked around and whispered, "Why? Is there something there?"

Brightheart shook her head, signaling that she could not say. "Just meet me." She turned and left camp. She headed for the abandoned nest, careful to make sure no warriors saw her. Once she got there she went inside and checked on Squirrelflight's body. Still there. She checked on the foxglove and knew it was still edible although she wouldn't be the one to test that.

Since Hollyleaf wouldn't be here yet, Brightheat looked over Squirrelflight's tail, trying to figure out what would be the best method to remove it. Knowing it probably wouldn't happen because of her plan, she decided to pull up Brightheart and speak with her.

_"Stop this!"_ yowled Brightheart, causing the other Brightheart to wince at her loud voice. _"ThunderClan has suffered enough. Please stop."_

_"You don't know anything do you?"_ replied the other Brightheart, watching the sunlight filter through the cracks in the ceiling. _"I am Brightheart and I will rip Firestar apart. There is nothing you can do about it so just sit and enjoy the show."_

_"I won't!"_ snarled Brightheart, _"I will fight! For all the cats dear to me, I will take you down. You can count on that!"_

The other Brightheart shrugged, _"You can try I guess. Won't do any good but at least you'll make it interesting."_

_"I'll tell everycat!" _ threatened Brightheart, _"I'll tell them of your crimes."_

_"How are you going to do that? In case you forgot, we both share one body. If you tell, that means you are going to be seen as an enemy. Who is going to believe my existence? Plus, I won't let you do that. I'll just take over."_

Brightheart fell silent leaving the other Brightheart in peace. She wondered what StarClan was going to throw at her next. After Brightheart had left, the other Brightheart had ripped her claws out of Bumblepaw's stomach and fled. Bumblepaw would be out of it for a while but she was worried about Spottedleaf. She didn't know how fast StarClan cats healed after being injured but Spottedleaf would tell StarClan about her existence and then she did not know what StarClan would do about that.

She was taken out of her thoughts as she heard somecat approaching the nest. She got up and walked outside. "Hollyleaf," she purred to the black she-cat, "Come inside. Quickly."

Hollyleaf obeyed and when they were inside, Brightheart stepped to the side so the she-cat could have a full view of Squirrelflight's body. She watched Hollyleaf out of the corner of her eye. The she-cat's green eyes widen and she looked like she was going to say something but couldn't.

"Why?" she finally said, "What did Squirrelflight do?"

"She betrayed the code," replied Brightheart walking over to Squirrelflight's body. "It was horrible for me to do it but cats who betray the code must be punished."

"What…did she do?" asked Hollyleaf walking over and stared down at the cat she thought as her mother for a long time.

Brightheart shook her head, "I'm sorry but we do not have enough time for that. I need you to help me remove her tail."

"Her tail?" asked Hollyleaf.

"Yes. Her tail. I'll tell you what it is for later." Brightheart lifted to her full height and flicked her ears around, like she was pretending to hear something. "Hang on. I think I hear something." Hollyleaf's ears flicked as she tried to hear what Brightheart did. "It's faint. I think I can hear it because I have better hearing. I'll check it out. See that plant over there?" She gestured to the foxglove, "If anycat comes, eat that. It will knock you out and then when you wake up, you can say that the cat that killed Squirrelflight is planning on killing you. If the cats are already here when you eat it, when you wake up, tell them that the cat told you to eat it because he threatened to kill Jayfeather and Lionblaze. Anyway, you get started on that while I check what's going on."

Brightheart slipped outside and sat a fox length away from the nest. A quick check of the sky told her it was sunhigh. It was time. Now for real, she heard cats approach. It was Sandstorm with Thornclaw, Birchfall, Graystripe and Hazeltail.

Brightheart flicked her tail towards the nest, "I think somecat is in there," she whispered, "We need to approach it cautiously."

"How did you find out about this?" whispered Thornclaw.

"This is no time for that," said Sandstorm, "Let's check it out before asking questions. Brightheart. Get in the patrol."

Brightheart went to the back of the patrol with Hazeltail. The she-cat was shaking but Brightheart didn't know if it was in excitement or fear. Sandstorm led the way to the nest. The patrol entered, all ready to fight. Brightheart rushed inside as well, not to fight, but to see the reactions.

Sandstorm yowled in shock. Hollyleaf looked up in surprise.

"What have you done?" yowled Sandstorm. The rest of the patrol stared at Squirrelflight's dead body in shock. All couldn't believe that Hollyleaf could do such a thing.

Hollyleaf didn't answer. She grabbed the foxglove in her jaw and swallowed the plant. Brightheart saw the plant take effect immediately. Hollyleaf's eyes widen as she realized what the plant was and she stared directly at Brightheart who tried not to laugh.

"Bye bye," Brightheart mouthed to Hollyleaf.

"Hollyleaf!" Sandstorm and Graystripe ran over to the black she-cat who was now struggling to breathe.

"I can't believe this," whispered Thornclaw not moving from the entrance to the nest, "I can't believe Hollyleaf would kill her own mother."

"I think she was involved with the other deaths as well," put in Brightheart, "She has been acting weird lately. I heard her talking to herself yesterday, saying she would be coming here at sunhigh. That was suspicious so I told Sandstorm about it."

"What about Daisy's murder?" asked Hazeltail, "Did Hollyleaf do that too?"

Brightheart shook her head, "I don't know."

"Hollyleaf did all of this," Thornclaw shook her head, "I can't believe this. Everycat knew she was obsessed with the code but to actually do murder."

Sandstorm walked over to the three cats. "Hollyleaf's dead. The plants she ate must have been poisonous." She suddenly looked fragile, like one poke would make her crumble apart.

"Are you alright?" asked Brightheart placing her tail on Sandstorm's shoulder the same way Brightheart would.

Sandstorm shook her head, "Both my kits are dead. My grandkit killed them and the clan has been suffering from many deaths recently. Why is StarClan punishing me like this?"

"Let's get the bodies back to camp. Thornclaw. You take Hollyleaf. I'll take Squirrelflight," ordered Graystripe. Like Sandstorm he also looked fragile. He probably felt terrible for Sandstorm, since he knew how it felt to lose kits.

Brightheart watched the toms pick up the two bodies by the scruff and began to drag them out. Brightheart stayed next to Sandstorm, supporting the she-cat as they returned to camp.


	38. Chapter 38 Brightheart's Plan Revealed

**Chapter 38.**

Brightheart took a deep breath and tried not to let giggles escape her mouth. The patrol had returned to camp and Firestar was staring at the two dead she-cats with an expression of pure shock. She kept watching Firestar's expression, trying to memorize it.

"Squirrelflight!" Brambleclaw yowled, running to his mate's side and collapsing next to her body.

Jayfeather and Lionblaze walked over. Lionblaze yowled in shock but he did not move. It looked like the shock itself was too much for him. Jayfeather, on the other paw, walked over to the bodies and just stood in front of them. He looked over at Brightheart with his blank eyes. Brightheart stared back, wondering how he knew she was there. Her eye narrowed. What was that tom thinking? Did this involve StarClan? Did StarClan tell him that she was the one who did it?

Around them, the rest of ThunderClan gathered, all in a wide circle to give the grieving cats space. Mummers ran through them.

"Hollyleaf too?"

"Is StarClan against us?"

Cloudtail walked over to Brightheart's side and licked her on the head. "You okay?" She resisted the urge to slap the tom with her paw.

"Get them ready for burial," whispered Firestar to Longtail and Mousefur before heading for the High Ledge. His climb up was slow and he almost fell several times. When he made it to the top, Brightheart looked up at him, noticing how frail he looked up there. It looked like a strong breeze could knock him over at any time. "Cats of ThunderClan," he began his voice not strong like it usually was, "Today, we have learned some horrible news. Hollyleaf…is the murderer of Squirrelflight, Daisy, Sol and Leafpool."

Cries of shock raised into the air. Brightheart rolled her eye. She wondered how they would react if they found out she was the one who did it? Of course she was content with giving the full blame to Hollyleaf. Although she really wished she could tell the rest of the clan at some point. She really wanted to see their expressions of shock and despair.

She shook her head. Thinking about that stuff wouldn't help the situation. She now had a new problem. She had no "allies" in ThunderClan, only in RiverClan. This was going to be difficult. She eyed Rosepaw in the crowd of cats. If she had Rosepaw...

"We…we shall sit vigil tonight for these dear cats," continued Firestar, his voice kept getting softer and softer.

"I can't believe this could happen," said Cloudtail quietly, his eyes on the bodies.

"I…I'm going for a walk," said Brightheart, "I…I need to clear my head."

"Should I come along?"

Brightheart shook her head, "No. I think I need to be alone."

"Alright," said Cloudtail but he seemed distracted. Brightheart hoped it was over the deaths of his relatives and not of that kittypet.

Brightheart left camp and the sad cats behind and headed for the ShadowClan border. While the other cats were grieving she knew she had the perfect chance. This was a good opportunities for her to get more "friends" with the other clans.

The scent of pine trees filled her nose as the border came into view. She didn't hesitate. She crossed the border and headed for what she thought was the ShadowClan camp. She didn't make it far though. The scent of an approaching patrol forced her to stop.

"What are you doing here?" hissed Russetfur, coming out of the undergrowth. Behind her were Kinkfur, Whitewater, and Snowbird. Whitewater was watching her in confusion.

Brightheart silently cursed her. She hoped Whitewater wouldn't try talking to her. "I need to talk to Blackstar," she announced, "It's important." Russetfur lifted her tail and the ShadowClan warriors started spreading out. "I'm alone," she added, "This is a personal matter…well, maybe not. It will benefit ShadowClan."

"How?" hissed Kinkfur.

Brightheart glared at her, "None of your business. I mean a cat who can't even keep her fur clean like a helpless kit doesn't need to get involved with this."

Kinkfur yowled and she looked like she was going to attack but Russetfur held out her tail in a warning. "Fine," said Russetfur, "But we cannot guarantee that you will come out alive."

"I won't have it any other way."

Russetfur gestured for the ShadowClan cats to surround Brightheart. She looked at them in amusement but didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?" hissed Whitewater from behind Brightheart as the cats headed for the ShadowClan camp.

Brightheart ignored her. She was not Brightheart. She did not care to make friends with other cats like her. The camp came into view but Russetfur stopped before they could go inside.

"Kinkfur," said Russetfur, "You go get Blackstar. I think we should have the meeting out here."

Brightheart didn't move as Kinkfur ran into the den. She knew what Russetfur was thinking. There was something in there that she didn't want Brightheart to see but they were close enough to the camp that a bunch of warriors would come out and attack her if Russetfur yowled loud enough.

Brightheart sat down and began grooming herself.

"What are you doing?" hissed Snowbird.

"What does it look like?" Brightheart continued her grooming, unaffected by the malice in the she-cat's voice. "I like being clean."

Russetfur just glared at her and Whitewater still looked confused. Brightheart only stopped grooming herself when Kinkfur returned with Blackstar behind her. Brightheart noticed immediately that the tom looked older than she thought. Now that she thought about it, he was only a couple moons younger than Leopardstar. She cursed silently while watching Russetfur out of the corner of her eye. That meant she had to hurry and let this plan go on before Russetfur became Russetstar.

"What is it?" growled Blackstar.

Brightheart knew she had to do this warily. Blackstar probably still remembered the whole Sol deal vividly. "I…" She glanced at Snowbird, Whitewater, and Kinkfur.

"Why can't you tell them as well?" snarled Russetfur. "Why do you want them to leave?"

Brightheart shrugged, "I thought ShaodwClan was tough. Plus, a leader and a deputy against crippled me? It is obvious who would win."

"Return to camp," Blackstar ordered the three she-cats, his golden eyes watching Brightheart. "I will call we need you."

"You better hope he doesn't call us," snarled Kinkfur as the three cats headed inside the camp.

Brightheart waited until they were gone before beginning. "ThunderClan has been facing major losses recently. Many cats are dead and now most of the cats in ThunderClan are grieving. It would be the perfect chance to attack-in fact you could probably gain more territory out of this."

"What are you saying?" said Russetfur, "Why are you telling us this?"

Brightheart shrugged, "You see ThunderClan is not a clan anymore. It's a place of kittypets." She spat, like saying the word was evil. "That's why I want ThunderClan to be taught a lesson. To show that kittypet blood is useless."

"But your mate is one of those "kittypets"," pointed out Blackstar, "Why are you doing this?"

"And what will we get in return if we do do this?" asked Russstfur.

"You will get ThunderClan territory," replied Brightheart, "And Cloudtail? Never really cared about him. Let's not worry about that now alright? Cloudtail is my personal matter. So? Will you accept?"

"Why did you betray your clan?" asked Blackstar.

"Like I said, the kittypets. ThunderClan is not something to be proud of, especially Firestar. He is dragging the clan down. He may have saved the forest in the past but ever since then; all he has down is destroy the clan." She suddenly had a thought. From what she thought, it seemed like the medicine cats knew about her and they never seemed to oppose her.

"Ask your medicine cat. Littlecloud. He knows I am telling the truth. StarClan wants Firestar gone." She leaned in like she was telling a secret. "StarClan also wants him gone. I heard Jayfeather talk about it. You see StarClan has been removing members of Firestar's family. He is weak and old now."

"Ask Littlecloud right now," ordered Blackstar.

Russetfur hesitated but she left. The two cats silently watched each other until Russetfur returned. The she-cat's expression was troubled. "He…he said that anything Brightheart says is correct."

Brightheart almost burst out laughing. She was right! StarClan did fear her! Those dead cats had advised the medicine cats not to make her angry. Maybe they thought she would kill them! "I think an invasion should be launched against ThunderClan," began Brightheart, "A large one that will show who is the boss. And WindClan and RiverClan should get involved! Three clans against one little kittypet clan. It is perfect!"

"If…Littlecloud says that StarClan told us to listen to you…then…I think we should listen," said Blackstar. Brightheart knew he was trying to make up for not believing in StarClan when Sol was around.

"I think it should take place the day after the gathering," said Brightheart.

"That's only three days," yowled Russetfur.

"So? ThunderClan won't be sad forever. This needs to be done now! Don't worry about RiverClan. I can take care of telling them. You on the other paw will have to get WindClan ready."

"Are you really sure this is the best thing?"

Brightheart's whiskers twitched. "Of course. I am sure that this is the best way. We will carry out StarClan's will."

"We'll do it," said Blackstar.

Russetfur turned to her leader in shock. "What? You are serious about this?"

Blackstar nodded, "StarClan wishes this."

Russetfur glared at Brightheart.

"I'll go to RiverClan now and tell them everything," said Brightheart, "You will get territory, that I will promise you." She turned her back to the two ShadowClan cats and headed for the RiverClan border. Her ears were perked but nothing happened. The ShadowClan leader and deputy didn't attack her.

"That takes care of that. Now, to take care of RiverClan."


	39. Chapter 39 Brightheart's Promise

**Chapter 39.**

"Attack ThunderClan?"

"Yes," repeated Brightheart keeping her temper in check. Getting mad at Willowshine would not help her cause in any way. Brightheart was back in the RiverClan camp. The trip here was extremely uneventful. She met no one on the way and none of the cats reacted when she entered the camp. She really wanted somecat to scream at her just so she could have some fun at least.

Leopardstar and Voletooth had immediately taken her to Leopardstar's den and Brightheart told her plan. Leopardstar had called in Mothwing and Brightheart ended up telling her the whole story all over again. This ended up bringing Willowshine who Mothwing said was needed and Brightheart had to repeat the story again. In the end she wanted to scream and maybe rip Mothwing apart.

"StarClan has said it's alright," said Willowshine, "They said that Brightheart should be listened." Brightheart noticed the look Willowshine was giving her. She wondered what she was thinking about. She wanted to flex her claws but she didn't. Even if they didn't act like it, she was still in enemy territory.

"We'll talk more after the gathering," replied Brightheart turning to leave.

"I'll pick out my best warriors for this," promised Leopardstar.

"I'll count on it," answered Brightheart leaving the camp quickly. While walking back to the border she heard somecat following her and turned. "Willowshine."

The small gray tabby she-cat glared at Brightheart. "I don't know what is going on, but you won't win. You aren't Brightheart."

Brightheart burst out laughing. Was this she-cat mouse-brained or something? How could she just confront Brightheart like this? "You know I could kill you right here and now right?"

Willowshine's eyes flashed fear but it was replaced by her angry expression. "And what would that prove?"

Brightheart laughed again, "You are a fool you know that?" She stopped laughing, her one eye filled with hatred, her claws unsheathed. "I will kill you if I have to." She stepped towards Willowshine, who surprisingly, held her ground. Brightheart stood over her and lifted up her left paw, her claws out. "See these? I removed many cats with this. What makes you think I won't do it to you?"

Willowshine's legs were shaking but she held her ground. "You wouldn't. We are out in the open."

Brightheart hissed and her lifted paw smacked against Willowshine's head, catching Willowshine's right ear in the move. The she-cat yowled in pain as half of the ear was ripped off.

The she-cat was on the ground whimpering in pain. Brightheart stood over her. She leaned down and whispered in Willowshine's good ear, "That was only a warning. Next time you get in my way you are going to loose more than your ear." She turned, leaving the whimpering Willowshine behind and headed for the ShadowClan border.

Unlike her trip getting there, she took the path by the lake. She was not going to push her luck with ShadowClan. When she finally crossed the border and entered ThunderClan territory, she quickly washed herself in the lake water to remove all the scents on her. Then she climbed out and dried off her fur the best she could.

"Brightheart."

Brightheart froze then turned to the voice. She saw it was a patrol consisting of Thornclaw, Poppyfrost and Cinderheart.

"Are you alright?" asked Cinderheart, "You're wet."

Brightheart shook the concern away, "Don't worry about me. I just went into the water to help clear my head. I'm fine now."

"I can understand that," said Thornclaw, "I want to do the same." He shook his head, "This is no time for that. Come on you two. We have to catch fresh-kill."

"Cloudtail was worried about you when you didn't come back right away," spoke up Poppyfrost.

"I'll go take care of him right now," promised Brightheart. She bid farewell to the warriors and returned to camp. Once inside she could feel the sorrow hanging in the air. The cats that were in the camp were almost silent except for a few words passed here and there. Even Whitewing's kits were silent for once.

_"This is just ridiculous,"_ thought Brightheart. She saw Jayfeather, Lionblaze, Firestar, Sandstorm, Brambleclaw and Cloudtail sitting next to the bodies of Squirrelflight and Hollyleaf. She rolled her eye and headed for the warriors den. At least she would get enough sleep. Plus, she needed to figure out her next step and battle strategies.

She collapsed on her moss bed and began thinking things over but got bored with it quickly. She decided to have fun instead. She placed her head on her paws and closed her eye.

A Dream

Brightheart stretched. She was in the same dark forest where she had first met the pathetic her. The sky was empty of stars but she knew this whole place perfectly. This was where she used to live.

She made her way through the shadows until she found what she was looking for. "Hello Brightheart."

Brightheart looked up from her spot in the shadows of one of the dark trees. She could see the other her leering at her. Brightheart looked away. "What do you want?"

"Do you like my home here?" asked the other Brightheart

"Be quiet," whispered Brightheart, "Go away."

"That's not nice," said the other Brightheart, "Didn't Frostfur teach you to be kind to others?"

"Don't you dare bring my mother into this!" spat Brightheart getting to her paws.

The other Brightheart shrugged, "Don't have to get all snappy about it. Oh yeah. I came here to give you wonderful news."

"What?" asked Brightheart suddenly cautious.

"I'm so close to killing Firestar! There's going to be a huge battle the day after the gathering and Firestar is going to lose all of his lives! Can you believe it? ShadowClan actually agreed with me!"

"No way," whispered Brightheart not hearing the rest of the other her's words. Was it possible? Was Firestar really going to die? And how could the other clans agree with this monster?

"Brightheart? Why so silent?" taunted the other her, "You should be loving this."

"How could you," cried Brightheart stepping towards the other her, "I will stop you! You won't kill Firestar! I won't allow it!"

The other Brightheart burst out laughing. "And there is something you can do about it? Face it Brightheart, you are nothing. This body is mine. Have fun. I'll be going now."

Brightheart looked away, not wanting to see the other her go and return to the body that was rightfully hers. However she knew she will get it back. She'll get her body back and stop the other her. Somehow.


	40. Chapter 40 A Talk With the Leaders

**Chapter 40. School begins tomorrow for me so the chapters will not be coming out at the fast speed they are currently being put out. –sends evil Brightheart out to attack school-**

"Careful Brightheart. The log is very slippery."

"I'm fine," replied Brightheart, trying to keep her voice light as she slowly crossed the log. It was the gathering night. Brambleclaw had offered to go alone but Firestar decided to go because he didn't want to seem weak in the eyes of the other clans.

Brightheart looked ahead to the end of the log where Firestar was just jumping off. He looked so frail. She had the urge to run up to him and rip out his remaining two lives. She reminded herself that the time was coming. Soon Firestar will die and her revenge will be complete.

"This seems weird," commented Cinderheart, who was walking behind Brightheart.

"What is?" she asked before jumping off the log.

"The other clan leaders are staring at Firestar oddly."

Brightheart looked up at the clan leaders on the branches of the tree. She noticed they were staring at Firestar as he climbed up the low branches of the tree like a warrior would stare at prey

Brightheart left Cinderheart and went over to the small group of RiverClan warriors and apprentices.

"Hello Brightheart," greeted Graymist as she sat down near them. A couple of the other RiverClan warriors also greeted her.

Brightheart nodded. "How is RiverClan?" she asked politely. "Prey is well?"

"Of course," replied Graymist. She lowered her voice, "And it is going to be even better after somecat is removed."

"Brightheart!" Beetlepaw and Pricklepaw ran over to her.

"Look! We've been practicing!" Beetlepaw pounced on Pricklepaw and the two rolled away while fighting each other. Beetlepaw seemed to be the RiverClan cat and Pricklepaw was the ThunderClan.

Graymist chuckled. "The younger apprentices really look up to you Brightheart. They find you to be a hero."

Brightheart looked away, pretending to be bashful. "Oh stop it. I didn't do that much."

"Cut that out!" snapped Duskfur as the two apprentices ran into her. "This is no time to be playing around."

"Sorry Duskfur," said both apprentices, scrambling to their paws.

"Sorry for the wait! Let's begin the gathering!" yowled Blackstar. The gathering cats fell silent and looked up at the four leaders. Brightheart noticed that the cats that weren't from ThunderClan were watching Firestar.

"The prey is running well in ShadowClan," said Blackstar, "We have chased off a badger that was living on the edge of the territory. That is all."

Brightheart tuned out Onestar as he began talking about his clan. She checked the warriors and apprentices in the camp. She noticed that many of the cats at the gathering were senior warriors with a couple of young cats thrown in to throw ThunderClan off. The other three clans were serious.

Brightheart felt a shift in the cats and she checked to see what was going on. It was Firestar's turn. "ThunderClan is doing well," he said. "There is nothing else to say."

"Looks like it is affecting him more than he is saying," murmured Graymist.

"I guess that ends this gathering," yowled Leopardstar.

Firestar quickly jumped off the tree and signaled for his clan to follow him. "I'll be right back," she said to Graymist, "Tell the leaders and deputies to stay behind. The rest should go to avoid suspicion."

"Got it."

While Graymist took care of that, Brightheart walked over to Cloudtail. "I got some rocks in my paws. I'm going to take care of them."

"Should I get Jayfeather or wait for you? You have been acting weird lately. Maybe your sick?"

Brightheart shook her head. "No. I'm alright. Don't worry about me Cloudtail." She bent down and began picking away at "stones". After a few moments Cloudtail turned and left. She eyed the remaining cats and once everycat was gone she got up and ran back to the tree. The leader and deputy for every clan were there. Waiting for her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Brightheart cheerfully.

"I can't believe we are going to do something like this," hissed Onestar.

Brightheart narrowed her eye. Did that mean Onestar wanted to back out? It wound make sense since he did used to be Firestar's friend. Plus he did not trust Brightheart. He thought she had the drooling sickness.

"Onestar. You agreed to it when we talked about it," snapped Russetfur. "StarClan wants Firestar gone."

"Yes. I know that. But why does she need to lead us?" spat Onestar glaring at Brightheart.

"She is StarClan's messenger," defended Leopardstar.

"And an ally to RiverClan," put in Voletooth, "Don't speak to her like that."

"I think you should let your feelings about Brightheart go," advised Ashfoot. "This is not the time to be worried about that. We need to figure out what to do. Plus if StarClan has chosen her then you cannot change it."

Onestar growled but he nodded.

"When should this attack take place?" Blackstar looked over at Brightheart.

"Sunset," replied Brightheart, happy that she thought of all this before. "The darkness would be good for cover plus an attack will be unexpected to happen them."

"We will bring out best warriors," promised Voletooth. Brightheart noticed he was fidgeting. Of course. This would be his first real battle as a deputy.

"If that's all, we must return to our clan," spoke up Blackstar. He got to his paws but Brightheart stopped him with her tail.

"I just need to say something. I will be on the ThunderClan side. I need to keep up my appearance in ThunderClan. I will try to help you out as much as I can but…"

"That's understandable," replied Leopardstar. "Don't worry. We'll do everything we can."

Brightheart nodded and the leaders and deputies began leaving for their own clans. Onestar on the other paw stayed behind, walking right next to Brightheart who wanted to leave after the other cats were already gone. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Are you really going to betray your clan like this?"

"That is none of your business," snapped Brightheart.

Onestar stopped in his tracks and whirled around. Brightheart ducked and his paw sailed over her head. She pushed back and landed a couple pawsteps away from Onestar. Out of the range of his paws as well as giving her time to dodge if he attacked her.

"I don't understand why you are doing this. Even if it is StarClan's will, I don't understand why you would do something like this. You used to be a loyal ThunderClan warrior. You were one of those cats that looked up to Firestar. Where's that cat?"

Brightheart laughed. "That cat? She's still here. Hidden away. I have to hold her back. She's quite annoying."

"What are you talking about?"

Brightheart pointed to the sky with her tail. "Looks like StarClan is against what you are doing."

Onestar looked up. The moon was covered by a cloud. His amber eyes fell and he lowered his head. "Very well. You win."

"Good," purred Brightheart walking out ahead of him. "I knew you would see it my way." She quickly crossed the log bridge and ran up WindClan territory to get back home. She didn't want to push her luck with WindClan. She hoped ShadowClan and RiverClan could keep him in line until after the battle.

When Brightheart entered the camp she was hit by the wave of sadness that seemed to hang over the camp. The bodies had been taken away that morning but the sadness was still here. She definitely couldn't wait until the battle.

"There you are," purred Cloudtail as Brightheart entered the warriors den. "Those must have been a lot of stones."

"Uh, yes," replied Brightheart settling down next to him. "Um, Cloudtail. If ThunderClan was to get attacked by another clan, would you protect me?"

"Of course I would," purred Cloudtail licking her on the head. "You are my mate after all."

"That's good to know," replied Brightheart. She placed her head on her paws and closed her eyes.

A Dream

When Brightheart opened her eyes she was confused of where she was. The forest was not dark. There was no shadows. It was brilliantly lit forest with thousands of stars overhead. StarClan.

"Why am I here?" she hissed angrily.

"Because we forced you here."

Brightheart turned to the voice. It belonged to a beautiful white she-cat with blue eyes. Next to her was a black and white tom with pale amber eyes.

She did not know who they were. Running through Brightheart's memory she remembered. "Frostfur. Swiftpaw."


	41. Chapter 41 Brightheart's Plea

**Chapter 41. It's finally time to write the scene that I had planned ever since I started this story! Since I don't want to reveal it up here, I'll say what it is at the bottom of the chapter.**

"Brightheart. Brightheart. Open your eyes."

Brightheart opened her single eye to see a very familiar beautiful tortoise shell she-cat looking at her. Her amber eyes sparkled with wisdom. "Spottedleaf?" she cried jumping to her paws. "How?" She checked the she-cat but there wasn't a single wound on her beautiful fur.

"Remember. I am from StarClan." Spottedleaf shook her head, looking around the dark forest. "This place is not for somecat like you. Follow me."

"But…" Brightheart glanced around. "How did you get here?"

"We don't have time," said Spottedleaf in her gentle voice. "Follow me. Quickly." She grabbed Brightheart's scruff gently and pulled the she-cat to her paws. "Come. We must go."

Brightheart forced down her questions as she followed Spottedleaf. She had many questions for her. Like how did she get here? Wasn't this the world inside her head? How could a StarClan cat get here then?

She was broken out of her thoughts as the world in front of her was changed. She was no longer walking through a dark forest but in a lush forest with a star-lit sky. She marveled at the stars overhead. It has been so long since she last saw stars and she wanted to remember every little detail of them.

"Frostfur. Swiftpaw."

The voice made her freeze. She knew that voice. She knew who was speaking. "Spottedleaf…"

"Don't worry," purred the she-cat, "We will not let her harm you."

Spottedleaf continued on and Brightheart followed. They stopped in a clearing and Brightheart's mouth dropped open in shock. Standing there were two cats she never thought she would see again. Frostfur. The mother who raised her and her siblings with love her care. And him. The cat has had felt close to back then. The cat she would follow with no hesitation. Swiftpaw.

"Brightheart," spoke her mother. The voice was like bird singing to Brightheart's ears. She had not heard that voice in such a long time.

"You!"

Brightheart stiffened. The other her was on the opposite side of the clearing, her single eye blazing with anger. She backed up a step. She needed to get away. The other her will destroy her. "Run!" she yowled to the StarClan warriors, "Run! She's evil! She'll kill you!"

"We will not run," spat Frostfur. She lunged and landed on the other Brightheart pinning the she-cat to the ground. Swiftpaw ran to join her to help keep the other Brightheart down. The other half of Brightheart spat and twisted wildly under Frostfur's paws while curses spewed out of her mouth.

"Go Brightheart!" yowled Spottedleaf. She pointed with her tail to a break in the trees where a light was shining. "Return and run. Escape. Protect everycat you hold dear."

"But…"

"Go!"

Brightheart did not need any more encouraging. She turned her back to her mother, her first love and the medicine cat she hardly knew and ran towards the light. As she got closer the light it seemed to get warmer and warmer as well as envolp her.

ThunderClan

Brightheart's eye opened and she jumped to her paws. She was in the warriors den. She realized with a jolt. She was in her body! She was controlling her body! She shook her head. This was no time for that! She needed to go. She had to get away before the other her escaped.

Brightheart looked down at Cloudtail's sleeping figure. "I will protect you and the rest of ThunderClan," she whispered before slipping out. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon and because of that the clan was silent. She glanced over at the nursery but she didn't go in. She would not risk Whitewing and her grandchildren's lives over this.

Brightheart slipped out of the camp and released everything. The trees passed her at a fast speed. She did not know where she would go or what she would do. All that she knew was that she would get away. She would find somewhere else to live. She would save ThunderClan.

What she didn't count on was Dustpelt. She skidded to a stop. Dustpelt's eyes were wide in surprise, a dead mouse at his paws. Brightheart was panting, all the energy she had from before was gone.

"Brightheart. You are up early." Dustpelt seemed to notice something in Brightheart's eye. "Is something wrong?"

A realization suddenly hit Brightheart. She couldn't escape. She could never escape. The other her was a part of her. Even with StarClan's help she would never be able to run away from the other her. They both existed. They were the same cat.

"Brightheart?" Dustpelt looked a step towards Brightheart.

She didn't know what happened but she was pressed against Dustpelt's fur when she blinked.

"Brightheart? What are you doing?" Shock resonated throughout the tom's voice. "Brightheart. This is unlike you."

"Help me," she whispered, her face buried in his fur, muffling her voice.

"What?" asked Dustpelt. "Help you?" He looked down at the she-cat pressed against his fur in confusion.

"Help me…from…me. She…she will…Firestar…everyone…they'll all be dead."

"Who?" growled Dustpelt, "Who?" He kept his body still so he would not spook her. "Someone is planning on killing Firestar? Hollyleaf is dead."

"No," whispered Brightheart, "It's not over. She…I…she is me. She will kill him. Protect him. Protect everyone. Please." She looked up at Dustpelt, locking her green eye with his amber ones. "Promise me Dustpelt. Promise me you will keep everycat safe."

"I…" Dustpelt trailed off his original thought. "I promise."

"Thank you," she whispered closing her eye and inhaled Dustpelt's scent. This maybe was the last time she would see him, see the life she used to live. She opened her eye again. _She_ was coming. She lifted her head and backed away from Dustpelt.

"What's wrong?" asked Dustpelt getting up cautiously.

Brightheart shook her head sadly. "Don't. Just don't talk to me if you see me again. I don't know what I will do to you." Dustpelt was about to ask but Brightheart was already running through the trees, trying to get far away from Dustpelt as possible.

_"Found you!"_

Brightheart felt her grip on her body slip away. She did not panic this time. She calmly accepted it, keeping her thoughts clean for now.

"I can't believe StarClan would try something like that," hissed the other Brightheart, now in full control of the body. She scanned the receding her's memories. "So you were planning on running away huh? How would that help? I would just take over and drag you back here. This battle will happen. I will get my revenge." She turned and headed back to camp. Tonight, it would begin.

**The scene that I figured out since the beginning was the scene with Brightheart begging to Dustpelt. I'll try to get the next chapter up by next Friday if I can. I know a lot of you want to see the beginning of the big battle. **


	42. Chapter 42 The Begining of the End

**Chapter 42. I finally got my own blog spot. I'll update when I first start a chapter and stuff like that as well as future story ideas on it! If you're interesting go to my profile and click on the homepage link!**

The sun was setting behind the trees casting the camp in a soft glow. The camp was still in its silent sorry state. Cats remained silent, speaking only when they had to. Firestar had not come out of his den all day and that made Brightheart happy. It would be easy to find him in the battle.

She glanced over at Dustpelt who was sharing tongues with Ferncloud. Maybe during the battle, Ferncloud should have an "accident". Then Brightheart could comfort Dustpelt! She purred at the thought. After this whole revenge was done she had time to do other things!

Dustpelt looked up and his eyes met her. After they crossed he began staring at her intently. Brightheart kept her gaze as well. She wondered what he was thinking about, staring at her like that. After what seemed like eternity, Brightheart looked away. Not because she couldn't keep staring. The battle was going to begin soon and she needed to meet the cats who were going to be in the fight.

No clan cat asked her where she was going but she could feel Dustpelt watch her leave. What did that mean? Could it be that he had feelings for her as well? _"You see that?"_ she thought to the weak her. _"He cares for me as well. Maybe we can be mates after all, well I am going to need to remove Ferncloud first."_

She was not too surprised when the other her did not answer. She was weak and pathetic. She was probably crying in a corner somewhere, asking for it all to stop. Brightheart turned her thoughts to Ferncloud and how she would kill her. Maybe Ferncloud could be fatally wounded by her and she could say it was by a warrior of another clan.

She increased her pawsteps as the land became darker and the moon was beginning to rise. She reached the twolegged path that acted as a border for the ShadowClan and ThunderClan. The wind blew in from the north, giving her the scent of badger.

Brightheart spat at scent. Mousebrained animal. She pushed the thoughts of the badger away. She saw a large group of cats waiting for at on the path. The scents of the cats mingled, smelling of the pine trees, moorlands and the river.

"We are ready to begin," spoke Voletooth stepping forward. Brightheart recognized Graymist behind him as well as Reedwhisker. "I shall be the leader of the RiverClan cats. Leopardstar…is not fit for battle."

"I shall be leader of the ShadowClan warriors," Russetfur also stepped forward.

Brightheart's eyes settled on Onestar, sitting before the group of WindClan warriors. Her eye narrowed. The cats that Onestar had brought were all young warriors, for some it might even be their first battle. Her eyes settled on Sedgepaw and Thistlepaw. She noticed that Ashfoot was not here as well.

She shook her head. Not the time to worry about that. "Make your way slowly towards the camp. Attack whenever you are ready." She lifted her tail and pointed it at Voletooth, the only cat she could really trust at this point. "Voletooth will give the order."

"I cannot do that!" cried Voletooth, "I cannot be given such an important task."

"I agree as well," growled Onestar, "I'll do it."

"I don't think you are taking this seriously at all," sneered Brightheart, "Russetfur. Do you have any objections?"

The she-cat shook her head. "Fine by me."

"Good," said Brightheart, "Get going. Hurry."

Voletooth took a deep breath and looked at the huge group of warriors, all watching him intently. "L…Let's get going."

"Watch him. Take over if he stumbles," Brightheart murmured to Russetfur as she passed. The she-cat hissed something under her breath but she nodded. Brightheart watched the cats disappear into the undergrowth, the ShadowClan warriors the first to vanish.

She knew it would be sometime until the battle began. Until then she would…

"What are you still doing here?" snarled Brightheart noticing Onestar was still there. He had not moved from where he had been sitting.

Onestar shook his head his amber eyes glowing. "You are not my leader."

Brightheart hissed in annoyance. This cat used to be Firestar's friend! She should have gotten rid of him or told him that only Ashfoot was allowed to come. "What are you going to do about it?"

"Stop you. That's all I can do. It's the least I can do."

Brightheart laughed, "Stop me? How are you going to stop me? Your clan as well as the other two clans, and even StarClan obey me! How can you stop me?"

"I do not believe StarClan wished this," said Onestar calmly.

Brightheart stopped laughing and glared at him. He was really starting to bother her. He was like a bur stuck in fur. One that would not go away no matter how much one pulled. "Well you are not StarClan. How do you know what they think? I know! Maybe you should join them."

Onestar got to his paws his eyes still on Brightheart. "No. Maybe it is you that needs to see what StarClan wishes." With a yowl he jumped and smashed into Brightheart's side, knocking her to the ground. Onestar pinned her down, her back pressed against the dirt.

"You'll regret this!" snarled Brightheart struggling under the tom.

"I will not," he said calmly. "I do not understand what is going on. I don't get how you, a cat loyal to her clan turned out like this."

"Stop wondering. It might cost you your life!" Brightheart looked at something behind Onestar and her eye got wide in surprise.

"What are you looking at?" Onestar turned to look. When he did, Brightheart felt his paw loosen the grip on her left shoulder. She lifted up the paw and slashed her claws across Onestar's white muzzle.

Onestar's yowled in pain and recoiled from Brightheart. She scrambled to her paws. Another yowl erupted and Onestar lunged for her. She sidestepped him but his claws slashed across her side. The same one that Daisy had attacked earlier.

Brightheart's cry of pain was silenced as Onestar smashed his body into her again. Brightheart's head smacked against the ground and she saw stars before her eyes. Onestar stood over her in triumph. "This time you won't get away."

Brightheart spat at him and curses flew out of her mouth. This would not happen! She was so close for her revenge to be complete. She would not die-

"Brightheart!"

"Get off her!"

Brightheart watched in shock as two young apprentices jumped onto Onestar's back. One of the two was clawing at Onestar's ears while the other attacked his shoulders. Brightheart used the distraction to push herself forward. Her jaw clamped around Onestar's neck and she crunched down with all her might.

Onestar began struggling wildly, his claws trying to reach her. The two apprentices would quickly distract him to avoid Brightheart getting hurt. Onestar's attacks got weaker and weaker until finally his body was still. Only then did Brightheart release her jaw.

_"That was not in the plan at all!"_ She turned to the two apprentices and recognized them as Beetlepaw and Pricklepaw. "What are you two doing here?"

The apprentices glanced at each other and shuffled their paws, both not looking at her. "We're sorry," said Beetlepaw, "Voletooth told us not to come to the battle because we were young but…"

"We want to help! We thought we can help you!" yowled Pricklepaw. He looked down again. "Is…Onestar dead?"

Brightheart glanced over and saw the wound was healing. "No. He just lost a life. It would be best for you two to return to your camp. This battle is serious. You two could get killed." Noticing the fallen look on their faces she inwardly groaned. Young apprentices were annoying. "Don't worry. There will be many more battles in the future. I promise. We can fight in those together."

"You promise?" asked Beetlepaw.

Brightheart nodded, "I do." She turned around, "Now get going back to camp. That shows how much I trust you two!" Without waiting for a reply from the two apprentices she raced back to camp.


	43. Chapter 43 Three Versus One

**Chapter 43. Only two chapters left until the end!(Those two chapters will be released at the same time because a lot of people will be like "WAH!?" after the next chapter).**

Brightheart slowed her run to a walk and began walking proudly through the ThunderClan territory. She felt like each leaf, every little spec of dirt was hers. It was all hers at that moment. It would all be hers in the future. All four clans. She wanted to shout with glee, laugh at what was to come but she didn't. With her heightened senses she could hear cats slinking through the shadows around her. Her group of fighters.

_"Get it right Voletooth,"_ she thought, _"You only get one chance. Don't mess it up or you will the one to pay."_ She picked up her pace. She wanted to be back in camp before it began. She wanted to see the expression on those ThunderClan warriors as they were slaughtered by the other clans.

_"Hey? Are you still alive?"_ she thought, digging the weak her out of her conscious.

_"Go away. Leave me alone,_" snarled Brightheart, trying to escape back into her corner of the mind.

_"Now now. That will be no fun. You should watch with me as your clanmates are killed. Won't that be fun?"_

_"You're a monster!"_

_"You are so kind,"_ she said before shoving the weak her back to her little corner as the clan entrance came into view. She could feel the eyes of her clan watching her. She flicked her tail in acknowledgement before walking into camp like she belonged, which she did.

The inside of the camp was lit by the rising moon making everything painfully visible. Perfect. It would be easier to pick off ThunderClan cats at this rate. _"Thank you StarClan,_" she taunted, _"I didn't know you cared."_

She trotted over to the fresh-kill pile and selected the juiciest vole she could find and devoured it quickly. Taking over ThunderClan on an empty stomach would be no fun. _"I wonder how I should kill Ferncloud? Maybe she can get into an accident or I can ask one of the other cats to kill her. This is going to be so much fun!"_

"May I sit down next to you?"

Brightheart looked up in surprise and her eye met Millie's. _"Forgot about her. If Millie had been watching Bumblepaw then he never would have lost an eye and I would never have to train such a pathetic apprentice. It is this she-cat's fault!"_

Millie seemed to sense the malice in Brightheart's posture. "What's wrong?" she asked, "You seem tense."

Brightheart forced herself to calm down by taking in some deep breaths. "I'm fine. I just smelled a badger near the border when I was out."

"A badger?" Millie gasped, "Shouldn't you tell Firestar or Brambleclaw?"

Brightheart shook her head, "The scent was carried on the wind. It is probably nothing." She hoped Millie would leave her alone now.

No such luck. "If you say so," said Millie before sitting down next to Brightheart. The she-cat moved slightly away from the kittypet born so their fur was not touching. "I'm really grateful for all you did for Bumblepaw. He…he really looked up to you. I mean, what I want to say is, thank you for taking good care of him."

"Firestar gave him to me," said Brightheart struggling to keep down the urge to slash Millie's throat right then and there. "I had to train him."

Millie nodded sadly. "I wonder where he is right now. I mean I know you believe in StarClan but…"

Brightheart rolled her eye. This she-cat was pathetic. Trying to fit in when she couldn't. Her name, her beliefs, it was all different. She could not wait until Millie was dead.

"Brightheart! What happened? Your side!"

Brightheart cursed herself and she looked at what Millie was looking at. The slash mark across her side, given by Onestar. It had stopped bleeding but blood was still soaked into her fur. Why didn't she remember to clean that? "This? It's nothing."

Millie leaned in close and sniffed. "It smells like WindClan!" She looked up at Brightheart, her eyes wide in worry. "What happened? Did a WindClan warrior attack you?"

"It's nothing like that," snarled Brightheart, coming out more forcefully than she intended.

Millie jumped to her paws in shock. "Brightheart?"

"Sorry," said Brightheart looking away, hating this she-cat more and more. She was about to say something else but a yowl from the camp entrance caused Brightheart to jump to her paws in glee.

At the camp entrance, Thornclaw, Brackenfur and Sorreltail were hissing at Voletooth, Russetfur and Leaftail who were slowly walking in proudly.

"Why are you here?" hissed Thornclaw. "Here to give ThunderClan trouble?"

"Of course," replied Voletooth smugly. "Attack!" he yowled, his voice echoing throughout the camp.

Yowls echoed at the top of the cliff surrounding the camp and cats began streaming down from there, using the ledges Brightheart had told them from before. Voletooth tackled Thornclaw and Russetfur attacked Brackenfur. Brightheart could not see what happened next for cats blocked her view.

"Briarpaw! Blossompaw!" screeched Millie jumping into the battle herself.

Brightheart let her go. Millie didn't matter to her. She sat on her haunches and watched it all take place. She saw Poppyfrost trying to defend herself against two huge ShadowClan warriors. Spiderleg was on top of a RiverClan warrior but a WindClan warrior attacked him.

This was all happening. This was it. ThunderClan would-

A yowl made her turn her head. Anger surged up within her. Crowfrost was standing over Dustpelt, pinning him down. He lifted a paw, ready to deliver the final blow against the tom.

"NO!" yowled Brightheart. She jumped into action, running over to the two toms and knocked Crowfrost to the ground, pinning the tom beneath her.

"What are you-"

"Leave filthy ShadowClanner!" she hissed before stepping off Crowfrost.

Crowfrost scrambled to his paws and was about to protest but a quick nod from Brightheart made him pause. He gave his own nod before turning tail and running for the camp exit.

Brightheart turned and asked, "Are you okay Dustpelt?"

"I'm fine," he said, getting to his paws. He looked Brightheart in the eye and his expression changed to…something she could not identify. "Return to fighting. Your clan needs you."

Brightheart took a step back, shocked by his voice, and almost had her tail sliced by a WindClan warrior who retreated his claws back at the last second. Brightheart whirled around and slammed her paw against the tom's head before returning her attention to Dustpelt. However he was gone, disappeared in the crowd of fighting cats.

"What's going on?" she wondered. Why did he run away? Maybe he felt embarrassed that he needed to be saved by a she-cat? How sweet. Maybe he wanted to act like a real tom in front of her. Well, she would let it go. Now. To remove Ferncloud. She padded towards the nursery, the cats from her clan not touching her. She heard Foxclaw calling for help but she ignored the voice. He was not important to her.

The nursery's entrance was not guarded and when she stepped inside she found Whitewing in the corner, her tail wrapped around her kits. Ferncloud was in front of her, ready to protect the queen if necessary. Ferncloud relaxed when she saw the cat that had come in was Brightheart.

"How is it out there?" she asked.

"Not going well for ThunderClan," said Brightheart bluntly. Her mind was thinking furiously. How could she kill Ferncloud if Whitewing was sitting right there? As much as she hated to admit it, Whitewing was younger than her and more nimble. That is…unless she got her paws on the kits.

"Brightheart? What should we do?" asked Ferncloud. Her eyes were hard and she looked battle ready. Brightheart was surprised that Ferncloud was asking her opinion on this matter. Maybe it was because she was a true warrior, unlike Ferncloud who spent the whole day in the nursery?

"Let's go outside the nursery and defend it out there," said Brightheart firmly, not looking at the weak her's daughter.

"Alright." Ferncloud turned to Whitewing. "Don't worry. We will not let anycat past us."

Whitewing nodded and pushed herself farther in the back of the nursery.

Brightheart slipped outside with Ferncloud right behind her. Outside they were met with the yowls of Ferncloud's clanamtes and Brightheart's clan. Warriors were everywhere, fighting with everything they had. She spotted Lionblaze nearby, ripping through a ShadowClan warrior, a RiverClan warrior and a WindClan warrior in quick succession. She narrowed her eye. She forgot about Lionblaze. That power of his, to not get hurt in battle may become a damper on her plan.

"Oh StarClan! Brightheart! Look!" Ferncloud gestured to the High ledge.

Brightheart followed Ferncloud's gaze and she yowled. Not in shock or in fear but in joy. A large group of her clan cats were trying to get up the ledge and make it into Firestar's den. Graystripe, Birchfall, Mousewhisker and Poppyfrost were defending at the top of the ledge, defending Firestar with their lives. Because they were above, they had an advantage and were constantly shoving Brightheart's clanmates down.

"How dare they?" hissed Brightheart.

"I agree," growled Ferncloud, "How dare they go after Firestar."

Brightheart glared at Ferncloud but she didn't say anything. It was going to take forever for her clanmates to kill Firestar. She should do it herself. But how was she going to get away from…

Like a sign from StarClan, Mintfur yowled and pounced on Ferncloud, pinning the she-cat to the ground. Mintfur looked up at her and nodded. "Finish it."

Brightheart nodded and raced towards the High Ledge. Around her the battle continued. All cats fighting for their own side. She only saw flashes of the battle around her. Sorreltail cornered by Kinkfur and Gorsetail. Hazeltail's back being ripped open by Rainstorm. Cinderheart trying to save Hazeltail. Owlpaw almost killed by Thornclaw but was saved by Dewspots. It all flooded in and left. None of that mattered. All that mattered was what was ahead of her. The High Ledge and the end of Firestar.

"Get out of my way!" she screeched as she neared the High Ledge. Her clan continued their climb but they moved, leaving room for Brightheart to run through. Her claws scraped the ground. It was time. All that was left was climbing up to the ledge and then…

"Badger!"

Brightheart did not know who let off the warning but panic broke out in the camp. Brightheart glanced at the entrance and saw a badger was trying to put its way into the camp. She growled in annoyance but knew this could be a blessing. Firestar killed by a brave badger! It was too good to be true.

"Retreat. Return to your clans for now," Brightheart whispered to Antpelt who was running by. "Escape using the walls. Pass it on."

Antpelt obeyed and yowled, "Retreat!"

Voletooth, who was about to put the finishing blow on Toadpaw looked up at Brightheart. She nodded and Voletooth released Toadpaw. "Reatreat!" he yowled, "Let the badger kill them!"

"Come with us," whispered Graymist as she passed Brightheart.

Brightheart shook her head, "No. I cannot. That would seem suspicious. Don't worry. I will escape in time."

"You better," replied Graymist before running after her clanmates.

In less time than when they appeared the camp was devoid of cats from the other clans. The camp and cats revealed that a battle took place. The apprentice and warrior dens were destroyed. Many cats suffered multiple injuries and a couple looked close to death.

Whoever could still fight hissed as the badger fully made it into the camp.

"We can still fight!" yowled Brambleclaw to the badger. His fur was covered with blood and Brightheart could see a gaping wound on his shoulder.

The badger's eyes widen in alarm but it spoke, in cat, "Hello. Me Midnight."

**Argh. I don't know if I got Midnight's speech pattern right. I don't have any of books she appeared in so I could not check but I am getting a copy of Midnight before I write the next chapter since Midnight is in it a lot.**


	44. Chapter 44 Final Confrontation

**Chapter 44! This is it! The final two chapters of A Scarred Face and a Torn Heart! And just for that, I'm opening up anonymous reviews again. Well, get reading.**

Brightheart struggled to control her rage as she watched Midnight talking quietly with Brambleclaw and Graystripe. How? Why was Midnight here? Why did she have to come at that moment?

"Thank StarClan," whispered Cinderheart, a couple pawsteps away from Brightheart. Her fur was caked and she seemed to be favoring three legs. "If Midnight had not come, we would have probably lost."

"But why would the other three clans attack us?" wondered Thornclaw. One of his eyes was closed for he was cut above it and blood covered it. "It makes no sense."

"StarClan knew the answer," said Jayfeather walking over. Brightheart glared at him as he began treating Thornclaw's wounds.

"Can I help?" asked Cinderheart. "My injuries aren't much."

Jayfeather nodded and began telling her what to do.

Brightheart returned her attention to Midnight. Why should it matter what other cats in this clan did? Realizing that she was considered a senior warrior she padded over and joined the group of senior warriors around Midnight just in time to hear her say, "I come to save clan."

"Save clan from what?" asked Brambleclaw.

Brightheart settled down next to Cloudtail who had just joined the group as well. She was curious. Why was this badger here?

Midnight shifted back until she was sitting on her haunches. "StarClan told me. Clan in danger. Danger from inside."

Brightheart stiffened. Of course. StarClan. Those pathetic cats had used Midnight as a backup plan in case they could not contain her. Those foxdung cats. How dare they try to resist?

"What does that mean?" asked Sandstorm also joining the cats. Her left ear was ripped and her pale ginger fur was now dark.

"StarClan not tell me," said Midnight, "Said only to come quickly."

"Thank StarClan," whispered Graystripe, "They knew this would happen and brought help."

"You may rest in camp for now," offered Brambleclaw, "We may not have much right now but you are welcome to stay."

Brightheart got up and walked away. Around her she could hear the ThunderClan warriors cheer for Midnight. The creature that ruined her plan. She wanted to kill Midnight, rip that badger to shreds, torture her until she screamed for mercy, find her family and kill them as well.

She looked up at the High Ledge. Ever since the battle began Firestar had not been seen. Was he really in there? She glanced back at the ThunderClan cats and saw everycat's attention was on Midnight. Knowing it would be her only chance she quickly made her way up the High Ledge and into Firestar's den.

The inside was dark but Brightheart could make out Firestar in the corner. The tom was on his paws when Brightheart came in but he relaxed when he realized it was her.

"Brightheart," he sighed in relief. He walked over to her slowly. Brightheart noticed how slow he was walking. It looked like age was catching up to him and maybe the stress of being leader. "I heard Midnight was outside. What can I do for you?"

Brightheart unsheathed her claws but did not move. If she did it there was no turning back. This was it. No more hesitation. No more waiting for others to do it for her. StarClan may have foiled her plan to destroy ThunderClan but she would get her revenge. "Firestar," she began, lifting her head.

"Yes?" asked Firestar, sitting on his haunches, his green eyes glowing in the dark. He was watching her expectantly.

"Die," spat Brightheart pushing off with her haunches. She slammed against Firestar knocking him to the ground.

The tom yowled in shock but he was able to lift up a paw and smash it against Brightheart's head knocking her away. Brightheart shook her head trying to remove the stars from her eyes as Firestar scrambled back to his paws.

"Brightheart? What's going on?" yowled Firestar, "Why are you doing this?"

"My apprentice," she spat, approaching him again, "All I wanted was to train an apprentice. A normal apprentice. No cripple. But you did not do that. You gave me two pathetic apprentices!"

"Brightheart…I did not know," said Firestar, "Don't worry. I'll give you one of Whitewing's kits to-

"I don't care about that anymore," spat Brightheart. She laughed, "I don't care about it. All I want is for you to be dead." She stopped laughing and looked Firestar in the eye, her eye glinting with madness. "Did you like it? How did you feel when your family was slaughtered around you? Were you in despair? Did you want to die? Did you have a hole within yourself?"

"It can't be," whispered Firestar, "You…"

"Yes. I killed them all," laughed Brightheart, "Their cries of pain and death were like fresh caught rabbits to my ears."

"What about Hollyleaf? Didn't she?"

Brightheart shrugged, "A little lie can go a long way."

"Murderer," cried Firestar, "I trusted you. I thought-"

"I don't care what you thought," yowled Brightheart tackling Firestar to the ground. Her teeth tried to reach his throat, her claws scraping his fur.

Firestar was not sitting back. He fought with everything he had. His claws raked across Brightheart's sides, her belly. His teeth found Brightheart's leg and he clamped down.

Brightheart yowled in pain and swiped her claws across his face, forcing him to let go. She did not waste the moment and her claws met Firestar's neck.

The leader's struggle ended and his body fell still. Brightheart backed away from it, panting heavily. Her body was covered in blood. Both his and hers. "I did it!" she yowled happily. Laughter filled her. "Did you see it StarClan? I killed him! I killed him!" She wacked Firestar's head with a paw. "Look at your hero now StarClan. Nothing but a dead body. Nothing that could save the clans."

"Brightheart!"

Brightheart froze and turned to the entrance of the den. Cloudtail and Dustpelt were standing there, looking at her in horror.

"How…" Cloudtail trailed off.

"It's not what you think!" Brightheart stepped towards the toms. No. This could not be happening. She needed to escape. To get away and join her clan. They would protect her.

"Brightheart," Dustpelt stepped towards her, his amber eyes glinting with anger. "You are not her. You are a monster."

"No," Brightheart shook her head, "I am Brightheart!"

Dustpelt took another step towards her, his claws unsheathed.

Brightheart looked around wildly. She needed to escape. She had to get away. She noticed Cloudtail was still frozen at the entrance. Of course. She could dodge Dustpelt and run out of camp. Cloudtail would not stop her and by the time Dustpelt could get the order out, she would already be on ShadowClan territory.

She positioned herself at the ready. The wounds from her fight with Firestar now a distant memory. Those can be treated in one of the other clans. With a yowl Dustpelt lunged for her. Brightheart was about to move when she felt her limbs freeze up. She could not move!

_"I will end this here and now!"_ spat Brightheart.

The other Brightheart tried to yowl but could not find her voice as Dustpelt's teeth clamped around her neck. _"NO! I cannot lose here!"_ She struggled to take back control over the body but Brightheart's grip was too tight.

_"Give it up. It's over. We will die here and now."_ Brightheart shoved the other her out of the way and took full control of her body. With the last of her strength she opened her mouth and mouthed, "Thank you…" before darkness engulfed her.


	45. Epilogue

**Yup. This is the final chapter. It was originally supposed to end with the previous one but I thought of this one and I had to put it in.**

White mist swirled around the two Brighthearts. The air was silent. Nothing seemed to move except for the mist.

"That was a surprising thing you did," said the other Brightheart her white tail flicking behind her. She chuckled, "I didn't think you had it in you to take control like that. Impressive."

Brightheart stared at her. The cat that looked exactly like her. The cat that was her. Something she tried to suppress for so long that became her own cat. What could she say? This Brightheart was a part of her and now they would probably never see each other again. "What now?"

The other Brightheart titled her head to the side, "What kind of question is that? We both now where we are headed."

Brightheart nodded and looked sadly at the ground "Yes. I know."

"Good. Now go. I don't want to look at your face anymore." The other Brightheart got to her paws, turned and was about to leave but looked back. "Stop regretting it," she spat, "What's done is done. Move on." Those were her final words as she disappeared into the mist.

Brightheart waited. She sat there, looking for the other her but she never came back. She did not know how long she waited in that mist before turning and heading in the opposite direction that the other her had taken.

The mist thinned the further she walked until it was gone, revealing a forest shining with starlight. Waiting before the forest were Frostfur, Swiftpaw, Bumblepaw and Firestar.

A lump rose in her throat and she skidded to a stop when she saw the leader. How would he react to this? What would he think of her entering StarClan?

"They have told me everything I needed to know," said Firestar gently, stepping forward. His orange fur shone in the moonlight and his green eyes sparkled. He looked nothing like the cat she had killed. This was the Firestar she had looked up to.

"I…," Brightheart lowered her head, "I'm sorry. I wish…I wish I…"

Firestar licked her on the head, "Don't worry. It does not matter anymore." He moved to the side so Frostfur, Swiftpaw and Bumblepaw could approach her.

"My kit," whispered Frostfur, burying her head into Brightheart's fur, "How much you have suffered."

"I still think of you as my mentor," said Bumblepaw looking up at her, both of his eyes sparkling with joy. "I will always look up to you."

"I'm sorry I could not be a better mentor," she said lowering her head to Bumblepaw. "I'm sorry I could not save you."

"It's alright," Bumblepaw replied, "I knew you would if you could."

Brightheart looked over at Swiftpaw who stood a pawstep back to let Frostfur and Bumblepaw have the first words with her. "Swiftpaw," she managed to choke out.

The black and white tom shook his head, "You don't have to say anything. I know as well." He walked over to a small star filled pool nearby and gestured for her to come closer. "Look at yourself now Brightheart. Look at yourself as a member of StarClan."

Frostfur and Bumblepaw stepped to the side to let Brightheart pass. She walked over to the pool and looked within it. She let off a small yelp. Her fur was clean, beautiful, doted with stars. However it was not that that shocked her. Her face. Her scarred face, it was healed. Her right side looked like her left. Her right green eye sparkled back at her, welcoming her back.

Brightheart did not know what to say so she turned back to the four cats who were all watching her proudly. "I…"

Swiftpaw stepped forward. "Let's go Brightheart. The rest of StarClan awaits."

Dark Forest

The other Brightheart walked through the shadows confidently, her scarred face visible for all to see. Her steps were purposeful. She glimpsed other cats every now and then but they meant nothing to her. They were pathetic weaklings.

She wandered for a long time, not really knowing if she would get there or not. She did not know if she would be traveling this place forever. However she did not stop. She continued on, never getting tired.

She reached a large clearing and within it were two toms, a large dark brown tabby and another who looked just like the first, the only difference was his eyes, a piercing blue. They looked up in surprise as she walked into the clearing.

"My name is Brightheart," she spoke. "Would you like some help?"

**Well that's it. A Scarred Face and a Torn Heart has come to an end. When I started this story last November I did not think it would become as popular as it as and for that I thank all you fans who stuck through to the end. May I see you all in the future! (And anyone who wants to can check up my blog where I will posting the possibility of a sequel…) See you later folks!**


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